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Updated: August 1, 2026 @ 5:27 am
A proposed utility-scale solar project near the Emporia Energy Center is continuing to move through the early planning stages, even as Lyon County has temporarily paused new solar development applications while officials review and strengthen local zoning regulations.
Evergy says the proposed Emporia Solar Project has been in development since 2022 and is designed to provide electricity for the company’s approximately 1.7 million customers across Kansas and Missouri. The company also stressed the project is not related to the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus.
“We have been developing this project since 2022 as a grid asset to support Evergy’s 1.7 million customers,” said Matt Lucht, Evergy’s senior communications manager.
The project would be located near the existing Emporia Energy Center, where Evergy already has transmission infrastructure in place. According to a project map provided by the company, solar panel arrays are proposed on multiple tracts surrounding the generating station on land owned by both Evergy and private landowners. Evergy notes the map represents its current concept and remains subject to change as planning continues.
Unlike some large energy projects that are built to serve a single industrial customer, the proposed solar farm would become part of Evergy’s electric grid, supplying power throughout its service territory.
Lucht said the company selected the site because of its proximity to existing energy infrastructure and has already begun meeting with neighboring property owners.
“Evergy recently had a neighbor meeting where we took the opportunity to share early project details and solicit feedback from the local neighbors on how best to optimize the project as we proceed toward a permit application,” he said.
Several key details, including the final acreage, construction schedule and permitting timeline, have not yet been determined and will be finalized as the project moves through the approval process.
Questions about the project have increased since Lyon County commissioners voted last week to approve a temporary moratorium on new utility-scale solar developments.
The moratorium, which runs through Dec. 1, is not intended to stop Evergy’s project permanently. Instead, commissioners said it provides time for county staff to review and strengthen existing solar regulations before considering new utility-scale applications.
Lyon County adopted solar regulations in 2023, but commissioners said they want to revisit issues such as setbacks from homes, protections for neighboring property owners and other land-use standards before projects move forward.
During last week’s commission meeting, Evergy Vice President of Development Jason Humphrey presented an overview of the proposed project before commissioners voted on the moratorium.
Humphrey said the project would help meet growing electricity demand, diversify Evergy’s generation portfolio and connect to existing transmission infrastructure without requiring new overhead transmission lines. He also said the project would not rely on eminent domain and could generate more than $60 million in local property tax revenue over 30 years while creating construction jobs and lease payments for participating landowners.
Residents offered differing views during the public hearing. Several neighbors urged commissioners to delay new solar projects until stronger zoning protections are in place, citing concerns about setbacks, drainage, glare and the project’s impact on rural character. Others argued Lyon County already has solid solar regulations and questioned whether a moratorium was necessary.
Commissioners ultimately approved the temporary moratorium unanimously, emphasizing that the goal is to improve the county’s zoning regulations rather than prohibit future solar development.
Evergy also addressed speculation that the proposed solar project is connected to the Flint Hills Digital Campus proposal currently under consideration in Emporia.
Lucht said it is not.
“This project has been in the works since 2022 and has been designed to be in compliance with the solar rules that Lyon County passed in 2023,” he said.
For now, the Emporia Solar Project remains in the planning stage. As Evergy continues refining the proposal, county officials will continue reviewing and updating utility-scale solar regulations before new applications move forward later this year.
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