PIERCE - The Pierce County Board of Commissioners is giving the green light to the construction of a large-scale solar farm in the near future.

The board approved a conditional use permit on Monday for Boulevard Associates to construct the Goldenrod Solar Farm in Pierce County on the property of Aaron and Ryan Zimmerman. The approval of the permit was a major step in the process of creating the farm, but representatives of NextEra Energy don't expect the solar farm to up-and-running until 2021 at the earliest.

NextEra will soon begin the process of conducting environmental studies on the land, which will help fully develop its construction plan in order to not hinder any area wildlife. Points of contention were raised by area landowners regarding the possible deterioration of country roads due to heavy construction traffic, as well as the solar panels possibly becoming eyesores for adjacent landowners. 

NextEra says they will be taking all of those concerns into consideration, and are seeking further feedback in order to create the best possible project for all parties that will be affected. Ultimately the board of commissioners decided the pros of the solar farm outweighed the cons that were voiced, and the permit was unanimously approved by a 3-0 vote.