EIGHTY EIGHT, Ky. — Some Eighty Eight landowners are being offered $5,000 to waive Barren County’s 1,000-foot setback requirement for a proposed solar development.

The offer came from Sefferty-Daniel Land Consulting LLC, a Missouri-based firm working with a developer of the proposed project.

Cliff Weedman, an Eighty Eight resident, said a representative with the company approached several property owners along Eighty Eight Road about signing limited setback waivers.

“What they’re trying to do is get people to sign off and give you $5,000 to say they could be closer than that,” Weedman said.

Weedman said he later spoke by phone with the representative, Seth Knopp, after Knopp left a handwritten note and business card at his home.

During that conversation, Knopp told Weedman the proposed solar development would cover about 300 acres and said he would provide a map and additional information, Weedman said.

That information never arrived.

As Weedman and other neighbors tried to learn more about the proposal, including where it would be located, a neighbor gave him a copy of a document outlining the compensation being offered for the setback waiver.

The document included a handwritten note that said, “Any property you own near Richardson Farm,” according to a photograph provided to Barrenside.

That led Weedman to suspect the proposed development could involve a large farm near his property owned by Glasgow attorney Bobby Richardson and his wife.

Weedman said he asked Knopp about the property, and Knopp confirmed that the Richardson property was involved.

“He said, ‘Well, I’m not supposed to say, but, kind of, yeah,’” Weedman said.

Barren County Property Valuation Administrator records confirm that Richardson and his wife own a 236-acre farm along Burkesville Road in Eighty Eight.

The limited setback waiver contract states that the developer plans to lease land for its commercial solar project, though it does not specify what other properties, if any, may be involved.

When reached for comment, Richardson declined to answer questions about the project, saying he did not believe it was a matter of concern to Barrenside.

“I don’t see that it is a matter of concern to you. If any neighbor has a question I can answer from the information I have, you can let them know they can call me anytime and what I know that is relevant to them I will tell them,” he said.

Who is behind the project?

Part of what neighbors wanted to know was who was behind the proposed solar development.

The initial contract provided to Weedman appeared to be a boilerplate agreement with blank spaces to be filled in and did not identify a developer.

A different “good neighbor agreement” shared with Barrenside by Weedman identified “Heelstone” as the solar developer.

Barrenside confirmed that “Heelstone” refers to Heelstone Renewable Energy, a North Carolina-based independent power producer focused on renewable energy.

Codey Paulsen, development project manager for Heelstone, confirmed the company is evaluating a project in Barren County and referred to it as the “Hilltopper Solar” project.

“As an early-stage project, we are still evaluating project feasibility and conducting our due diligence,” Paulsen said. “A crucial part of this evaluation is early communication with nearby property owners to share information, answer initial questions, and support constructive dialogue as planning continues.”

Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative separately confirmed that Hilltopper Solar LLC is the developer and said the company has requested to interconnect the project to EKPC’s existing Patton Road–Summer Shade 69-kilovolt transmission line.

Heelstone said preliminary results from a study of connecting the project to PJM, the regional transmission organization, are part of its evaluation of the project’s viability.

“We look forward to working with Barren County if there is a path forward,” Paulsen said.

EKPC said PJM oversees studies to determine whether transmission upgrades would be needed to accommodate the interconnection and how much those upgrades would cost the developer.

Heelstone did not provide Barrenside with the project’s proposed acreage, generating capacity, specific location or timeline for permitting, construction and operation.

The company also did not provide a map or other project materials for the public.

What the agreement says

The “good neighbor agreement” provides some details about the arrangement with nearby property owners.

The agreement says Heelstone believes it is “appropriate” to compensate neighboring property owners because their properties could be affected by the eventual solar facilities.

“Depending on the final project layout, the facilities may or may not be located near your property line,” the agreement says.

Under the agreement, a property owner would receive $5,000 in two payments: $2,500 when the agreement is signed and another $2,500 when construction begins.

The agreement also includes a confidentiality provision.

It generally prohibits the property owner from disclosing the agreement or compensation terms, while allowing disclosure to the owner’s lenders, attorneys, accountants and other financial advisers for purposes related to the agreement.

It also allows disclosure to a prospective purchaser of the property or when required by a subpoena, court order or other lawful process.

The agreement would remain in effect until the project is terminated. It says termination is expected to occur between 30 and 50 years after the developer provides its general contractor with notice to proceed.

The proposed facility would include solar panels and related infrastructure, including inverters, racking, foundations, support structures, footings, anchors and overhead or underground electric lines.

Heelstone has not confirmed the project’s final size or layout.

How the waiver works

Barren County adopted an ordinance in May 2025 requiring solar developments to maintain a minimum 1,000-foot setback from nonparticipating property lines and rights of way for publicly maintained roads and rail lines.

A setback is the required distance between a development and a property line, home or other specified area.

The ordinance also allows an adjoining property owner to waive the setback requirement. That means a property owner who agrees to the waiver can allow a solar facility to be located closer than 1,000 feet from their property line.

At least four property owners along Eighty Eight Road received notices from Sefferty-Daniel Land Consulting, Weedman said.

The company is based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Its website says it evaluates potential sites for wind, solar and battery storage projects.

Weedman said the initial contact was informal.

“What I got was a Post-It note with a handwritten note on it and a business card on it,” he said. “It was stuck in my door. Another guy up the road said the same thing happened to him. My neighbor said it was in her newspaper box.”

Knopp left his business card and contact information with some property owners. Missouri business records list him as the company’s registered agent.

Knopp did not respond to Barrenside’s requests for comment.

Not the same as EKPC’s project

The Eighty Eight development is separate from a 92-megawatt solar project that East Kentucky Power Cooperative identified for Barren County in its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, according to EKPC.

EKPC has since canceled plans to pursue that project, spokesperson Nick Comer said.

Federal incentive funding for electric cooperatives pursuing renewable projects has been phased out, making the project economically infeasible, he said.

Comer confirmed Heelstone has requested to connect to the regional transmission grid through EKPC’s transmission lines.

“As the owner and operator of high-voltage transmission lines, EKPC is required under federal law to provide nondiscriminatory access to the electric transmission grid as long as the developer reimburses the cost of any upgrades necessary to accommodate their facilities, as well as the cost of studies to determine if/what upgrades are necessary,” Comer said.

What remains unknown

The documents provided to Barrenside and responses from Heelstone and EKPC establish the developer and the proposed transmission connection, but several details about the project remain unconfirmed.

Those include the project’s:

• Total acreage
• Generating capacity
• Final location and layout
• Construction timeline
• Intended use of the electricity
• Whether the project will ultimately move forward

The bottom line

Some Eighty Eight property owners are being offered $5,000 to waive Barren County’s 1,000-foot solar setback.

Heelstone is evaluating the proposed project, which it calls Hilltopper Solar, but the project’s final size, location, generating capacity and construction timeline have not been confirmed.