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Installer urges council to revisit 12-foot fence rule after USDA-backed bank projects stalled
Summary
A solar contractor told the Lincoln City Council that a recently increased fence-height requirement in the city's solar ordinance prevents two USDA-funded commercial ground‑mount projects from moving forward and could cost one applicant about $100,000 in federal funds.
Justin Chager, a representative for Stone River Group and Illinois Solar, told the Lincoln City Council on April 7 that changes to the city's solar ordinance – specifically a new 12-foot fence requirement tied to 12-foot‑tall ground‑mounted panels – make one planned commercial installation infeasible and could jeopardize USDA grant funding.
Chager said the planned ground‑mount system for First National Bank of Tremont would reach about 12 feet tall and that the ordinance’s setback and fence‑height rules effectively require the panels be 24 feet from a fence. "Given the space behind the building is only 32 foot deep, it would be impossible to put a solar system behind that building at that with those size requirements," Chager told the council. He said the bank has secured USDA funding for the project and that, if the city’s requirement remains at 12 feet, the…
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