ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. (KLFY) — Solar farms are slowly beginning to show up in rural areas all over Louisiana and St. Martin Parish has the possibility of adding its own farm.

Parish President Chester Cedars told News 10 that he wants to make sure his board is on top of everything before these farms are installed.

Cedars said that this is something that is on their radar, “We need to be prepared for it. If we don’t have any regulations in place, that would be a bad thing,” Cedars said.

Cedars also said that a company has already contacted his office to get permission to install a large solar farm in the parish. With many pros to these farms showing up, there are also some cons that need to be considered like agricultural impact, cost to install panels, and many people being unfamiliar with solar farms. This is why Cedars said that permits will need to be required for developers.

“The developer is required to give us drainage studies, environmental impact studies, traffic plans, a whole gamut of studies have to be done,” said Cedars.

Solar farms have the potential to bring in millions of dollars in revenue for the parish. Cedars told News 10 that this is important as technology enhances to get ahead of the game since solar energy is on the rise.

“We want to protect the industry, and we want to protect our neighbors. We don’t want to lose out on a potential development that can yield substantial revenue that would benefit the entire parish.”

Regulations to begin the installation of solar farms are slowly in the works.

President Cedars hopes this can make a positive impact on the future of St. Martin Parish.