- The Iberia Parish Council voted to extend a moratorium on solar farming for another year, saying more time and education is needed before writing an ordinance.
- Currently, no ordinances or regulations are in place for solar farming in Iberia Parish.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The line was out the door at Wednesday night's Iberia Parish Council meeting. KATC attended the meeting, which was held at the Iberia Parish Courthouse in New Iberia, where emotions ran high over one agenda item, in particular.
“We have zero! We have zero laws and regulations concerning solar panel, complexes," said one woman. "It isn't our option to tell people what to do if they have a constitutional right to enjoy their property," one man said. “This would be so disruptive for my quality of life," another woman said.
“If we're gonna do it, we want to do it right," said District 11 Rep. Brian Napier. A solar farming ban is currently in effect throughout Iberia Parish “The moratorium has been in place almost 6 months," said Parish President Larry Richard.
On Wednesday night, the council needed to update this ban, deciding whether or not to extend it. “Just to explain a little bit on how we got here," Napier explained, "toward the end of last year, I had put up a moratorium—and we were all negotiating with 'First Solar.'"
A solar panel manufacturing site is currently being built next to Acadiana Regional Airport. “...and it kinda was like, hey, maybe we shouldn't do it while were negotiating, saying ‘we don't want solar, but we want the plant.'"
Sixteen people signed up to give their take on solar farming at the meeting. One of whom was Jeanerette resident Krista Bernard. “I'm a local historian, I love combing through archives and finding old records, and learning about the people that came before us. There's so many unknown aspects of what's there that it will need a comprehensive archaeological survey done."
An idea that District 9 Rep. Scott Ransonet got on board with. “Once you have the solar on top of it," said Ransonet, "you have ruined the opportunity to possibly go down that road. So, just keep that in mind when we vote."
All but one person voiced opinions favoring the moratorium’s extension.
“This—'the entire parish needs to boycott it, the entire parish needs to ban it' stuff— doesn't make any sense, it's not democratic. I know it won't be decided here tonight, that's not what the council is voting on, but it's where we're headed."
After all was said and done, the council unanimously voted to extend the ban on solar farms throughout Iberia Parish for at least another year.
“I don't think the council is saying at all that they don't want a solar farm," said Richard. "You have to write your ordinances to where it's gonna address all of that. But I can tell you, they're gonna do their homework, I can assure you that they're gonna do their homework."
