The DeWitt County Board wrapped up its 2023 meeting schedule with its final meeting of the year right before Christmas.

It was highlighted by the approval of a 40-acre solar project - a trend Board Chair Dan Matthews anticipates continuing going into 2024.

According to Matthews, projects like the solar project in the northeast part of the County are sometimes tough because the landscape of renewable energy can change quickly whether that be because of state or federal regulation changes or because companies come ready to develop and then something happens and they have to pull back.

For Matthews, good partners in the renewable energy landscape are important for areas like DeWitt County and the small, close-knit communities that comprise it. However, he has been disappointed in the lack of a good partner that Enel has had in the last few years with its Alta Farms Wind Project being complete and online in the last year. 

Issues like the ones with Enel consume a lot of the Board's time. Matthews points to the previous board's decision on the wind farm and not giving the County much in the way of authority to move issues along as they come up. 

Matthews indicates the County has not had any official discussions regarding any further wind development in DeWitt County but he notes you always hear rumors or rumblings of something that could be on the horizon.