Ada County Commission vote means future of solar projects isn’t very sunny
The Ada County Commission has tentatively decided to ban solar power projects on large parts of Ada County land, a win for Idahoans worried about rural character and a loss for those advocating for renewable energy.
Parts of Idaho, and Ada County, have been losing droves of farms in the past several decades, in part because the area’s intense growth has driven demand for property that has been turned into housing or commercial development. At the same time, energy demand has also increased, and proponents of solar projects view the renewable power as a way to meet that need.
The decision came Wednesday in a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Rod Beck opposed. The proposed ban still needs final approval, which is expected to come Oct. 14.
“I felt a lot of support for this protection of farmland,” said Commissioner Ryan Davidson, who added he was open to doing more research and potentially revisiting the decision. “We’re an urban county, but there’s a desire to hang on to what we have left, which is dwindling.”
Ada County staff originally proposed regulations that included a ban on solar projects on prime irrigated farmland. Alexis Pickering, executive director of Conservation Voters for Idaho, told the Statesman that this would have provided predictable guidelines for solar developers.
But the county Planning & Zoning Commission changed the wording to “strongly discourag(ing)” projects rather than banning them, and it added protection for farmland of statewide or local importance. “Farmland of local importance” would be determined by the county commission itself.
Zoning Commissioner James Burch said during a July public hearing that the changes were meant to ensure that a proposal for a specific solar project south of Kuna didn’t come back after it was denied by the county commissioners in 2024. Two brothers, who were farmers, wanted to turn their land into a solar project. They viewed solar as less intrusive than housing.
The zoning commission’s definitions would add large amounts of Ada County land to what’s protected by the staff proposal and existing code, advocates previously testified to the county commissioners, and would amount to a de facto ban.
The County Commission decided to go even further, keeping all of those expansive definitions, but switching “discouraged” to “prohibited.”
Land used for solar could be returned to agricultural use after the project is completed, Aaron Menenberg, Idaho policy manager at Renewable Northwest, an advocacy organization, previously told the Idaho Statesman.
“If the commissioners proceed, what they’re saying to the rest of Idaho is the biggest users of electricity in the state are not going to contribute to providing more of it,” Menenberg said Wednesday. “That is just wrong.”
Neighbors lined up against the farmers’ solar project, putting the county commission in a position of choosing between private property rights and what neighbors think is best.
Beck touched on those tensions Wednesday night.
“Aren’t we impeding on private property rights?” Beck asked. “... A lot of places wouldn’t have houses if we had that definition (of prime farmland). I don’t know that we should single out solar.”
More than 100 people attended Ada County’s first hearing on July 30, compared with about two dozen who came to hear the commission’s decision on Wednesday.
“I’m pleased,” said Dustin Ferdinand, with Rural Community Advocates, a grassroots group formed to mobilize against the two farmers’ solar project. “They’re actually listening to us.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
