Commissioners grant permit to Lightsource bp for solar facility SE of Grant

BY BECKY UEHLING

GRANT TRIBUNE

After months of consideration and back-and-forth between parties, the Perkins County Commissioners voted 2-1 on January 20, 2026 to approve a conditional use permit for Lightsource bp to build an approximate 1,000 acre commercial solar conversion facility southeast of Grant. Voting yes on the project was Mark Bottom and Steve Tucker, with Darin Robertson voting no because of concerns about the loss of productive agricultural land.

According to the commissioners, the four main concerns the county had with Lightsource bp’s initial proposal dealt with location, decommissioning bond, the possibility of the project being sold to a tax exempt entity, and appearance. According to the commissioners, each of these have been addressed successfully by Lightsource bp.

• Location: The biggest difference between the initial proposal and the final proposal was the location of the project. Approximately 2/3 of the original project was to be built north of Highway 23 with a 1/3 of the project south of the highway.  The final permit has the project completely south of highway 23. (See Map) The commissioners also asked LIghtsource bp to be no closer than a half mile from the highway, which they agreed to.

• Decommissioning Bond: Originally Lightsource bp was going to post a decommissioning bond when there was five years left on the project. Commissioners, however, required the company to post financial securities within six years after the project commences operation, which they agreed to.

• Sale to Tax Exempt Entity: Commissioners raised concerns about the project being sold to a tax exempt entity and the county loosing tax revenue. To address this, Lightsource bp will require their buyer to continue paying the nameplate capacity tax each year, or, at closing, Lightsource bp will have to pay the remaining revenue stream for each year of operation remaining in the life of the project. The county would elect which route would be taken, Chairman Robertson said.

• Appearance: Lightsource bp is required to keep the height of the vegetation under 36” to help with appearance. 

Timeline

According to the commissioners, Lightsource bp has three years from January 20, 2026 to start development, and four years from that date to complete it.

The Tribune-Sentinel reached out to Lighsource bp for more information and comment. However, details were not available at press time. Watch future editions of the Tribune for more information and developments on this story.