Solar project on closed Lexington landfill moves forward despite objections
After weeks of discussions and strong objections from a local model airplane club, the Lexington council gave final approval Thursday to a new solar project on a portion of a closed Fayette County landfill.
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Council voted 10 to 3 to approve a ground lease with Edelen Renewables for 357 acres of the closed Haley Pike landfill to put the first solar farm in the rural area. Edelen Renewables will pay the city $85 per acre to lease the land.
The vote had been delayed several times in recent weeks, as council members questioned if the city should receive more in annual lease payments for the solar project. On March 12, the final vote was delayed for two weeks after members of the Lexington Model Airplane Club raised objections.
The airplane club has leased land at the decommissioned Haley Pike landfill for more than 20 years. The 67-year-old club has an airfield on the property, and it hosts training events and competitions for members flying large, remote-control, custom models through rural Fayette County skies.
The club had previously been housed at what is now Kearney Hill golf course and Masterson Station Park before moving to Haley Pike in 1999. It leases land for $1 a year, and the city has helped pave its runways, city officials said Thursday.
The club’s lease will expire April 22. Members of the club told the council during the March 12 meeting they tried to find a new place, but it’s difficult to find an area where a miniature airfield can be safely constructed and operated.
Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton has worked with the Lexington Model Airplane Club for the past two weeks to determine if they could find a suitable alternative location for the club, which has more than 100 members.
Hamilton said during Thursday night’s meeting the city looked at multiple sites, including city-owned property on Old Frankfort Pike, but members said that location was too close to New Circle Road and Blue Grass Airport, making it unlikely the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration would approve the new site.
Another site near the West Hickman wastewater treatment plan was also ruled out by the club for various reasons, Hamilton said. It would cost the city about $600,000 to build a new runway on that site, she said.
Hamilton said if the city moved forward with the Edelen Renewables contract, which would force the Lexington Model Airplane Club to vacate the lease, she was committed to continuing to work with the club to try to find a suitable location.
“Both of these projects are really, really, good — they just can’t co-exist together,” Hamilton said.
Model airplane club pushes back
Richard Dugas, a senior city administrator who has overseen the solar project, told council members March 12 the city notified the club the lease would not be renewed in August 2025. The city did not hear back from the club until January.
Michael Breunig, president of the Lexington Model Airplane Club, said Thursday it was untrue that the club was not in contact with the city or city officials. Breunig said the club tried to talk to council members and other city officials in the fall and into January and February.
Breunig said the club did not feel the issue was up for negotiation and felt the only way to bring the issue to the attention of the council was to attend the March 12 meeting.
“It was not presented as a conversation,” Breunig said.
Other members of the airplane club told the council the club is more than a club. It has served as an incubator, training teens and youth about aviation and engineering. Many who spoke Thursday said it was the Lexington Model Airplane Club that springboarded their careers in engineering and aviation.
More than a dozen model airplane members spoke against the Edelen Renewables contract for more than two hours before Thursday’s council meeting.
“We are a spark that leads many young people to aviation and engineering,” said James Newberry, a longtime model airplane club member who is unrelated to the former city mayor by the same name.
Teddy Payne, vice president of the club and a Leestown Middle School student, said it would cost $2 million to move the club to a different location. The club has added electricity and several buildings to the site.
Payne said his interest in aviation and engineering was sparked by the club. Other kids like him should have the same opportunity, particularly at a time when science and technology jobs are in high demand, he said.
“It’s one of the most valuable assets this community has,” Payne said.
Still, some urged the council to approve the Edelen Renewables project.
Brandon Stamper said energy bills continue to climb. Building more renewable energy, such as the Edelen Renewables project, will help keep energy prices in check. Moreover, the project will provide benefits to all of Lexington.
The model airplane club’s $1 per year lease has been subsidized by Lexington taxpayers for decades, he said.
Questions about lease payments
Edelen Renewables’ price tag to lease the land — $85 per acre — prompted questions from council members, as earlier studies by Lexington staff estimated the city could charge $550 to $850 per acre.
Dugas has previously said those initial lease payment estimates were preliminary and were not the same type of studies Edelen Renewables has conducted on the landfill.
Building part of the solar structure on a contaminated landfill makes it more costly to construct, Edelen Renewables officials previously said.
Lexington’s current zoning regulations suggest private solar developers contribute $750 per megawatt produced to a community benefits agreement, but that amount is not required. Whether the money goes to the city or to a nonprofit is still up in the air, but the regulations suggest the money be used to help lower-income families with utility costs.
Edelen Renewables originally proposed paying $125 per megawatt to a community plan. After negotiations, the approved lease sets a minimum rate of $250 per megawatt. The city is continuing to negotiate details of that community benefits agreement.
That community benefits agreement will come back to the council for final approval this summer, when the project applies for an industrial revenue bond, which allows the city to issue debt on behalf of a private company.
Adam Edelen, CEO of Edelen Renewables, said the company hopes to start construction sometime in mid-June.
To qualify for federal tax credits, construction on the solar farm will have to begin by July. Those tax credits were put in place during President Joe Biden’s administration but were terminated under President Trump’s spending bill, dubbed the Big, Beautiful Bill, which passed July 4, 2025.
Council members who voted in favor of the lease agreement were Vice Mayor Dan Wu, Chuck Ellinger III, Lisa Higgins-Hord, Shayla Lynch, David Sevigny, Liz Sheehan, James Brown, Jennifer Reynolds, Amy Beasley and Hil Boone.
Tom Eblen, Joseph Hale and Tyler Morton voted against the lease agreement.
