Boone County, IN

Energy Overlay

Boone County has seen significant development interest in recent years, from major LEAP development to potential large-scale utility energy projects. Seeing this high development pressure and hearing rising concerns from its residents, the County leadership proactively enacted a temporary moratorium on large-scale renewable energy projects until standards could be enacted.

The County selected HWC Engineering to develop a set of custom zoning and development standards that would respect its rural farming heritage, protect its prime farmland and natural resources, and ensure that energy production is safe. The HWC team worked closely with the Steering Committee to create this set of standards on a very short turnaround. The standards include a custom-made map of Prime Agricultural Land and were designed to blend with the existing zoning ordinance. The community was strongly in favor of these new standards and referred to them as the “gold standard” for energy production and storage development during adoption meetings.