Event to be Held on Use of Solar in County Government
7.18.2025 / News / munciepostdemocrat.com
MUNCIE, Ind. — At Maring-Hunt Library, 2005 S. High St, Monday July 28 at 5pm, the League of Women Voters of Indiana will host an event on how the use of renewable energy can affect county government budgets.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization with its own Delaware County chapter. The organization invites citizens of all political beliefs to join.
The two speakers, Greg Beumer and David Lenkensdofer, are both residents in Randolph County, an area known for major work in both wind turbines and solar facilities, and are both advocates for renewable energy. According to a press release by the League of Women Voters of Muncie-Delaware County: “Beumer was Indiana’s District 33 state representative from 2013 to 2018. He served as a Randolph County Commissioner for eight years. He is a past president of the Association of Indiana Counties, and for several years, Beumer served on the advisory board of Hoosiers for Renewables. In addition, he has two wind turbines on his family farm where he has lived for nearly 40 years.”
Greg Beumer (left) and David Lenkensdofer (right).
“Lenkensdofer, who lives in Union City, is the current president of the Randolph County Council. Previously he was a Randolph County commissioner for 16 years. In 2020, he was named the Outstanding County Council Member by the Association of Indiana Counties. In 2023, He was named East Central Indiana District Leader by the Indiana County Council Association. In the private sector, he has worked in the management consulting industry.“
The announcement for the event comes after a four-year long solar projects debate returns back in the spotlight. Last September, a moratorium on solar projects tax abatements was passed in Delaware County, preventing the abatements until March 1 of this year, and was extended in February to last without an end date, only changing if the county’s zoning ordinance is amended.
A recent Op-Ed on the same topic was featured in the Star Press by Joe Russell, a sixth-generation Indiana farmer and advocate for solar in Delaware County. Though some county officials have repeated that they believe there is large opposition to allowing the abatements, with County Commissioner Stephen Brand even characterizing opposition “40-1“.