Plan Director Ty Adley presented a revision to the county’s solar ordinance to the Marshall County Commissioners Monday morning.
Adley said the main purpose of the revision was to address large-scale solar arrays or installations due to scale and number of panels associated with such a project.
“We’ve got typical concerns that are usually brought about including noise, resale value, value of property, assessment, agricultural preservation, cost to remove or decommission, and hazardous materials,” said Adley.
Adley discussed setback adjustments and other requirements for rooftop, freestanding, small-scale, and large-scale systems. He added that they’ve looked at ordinances from neighboring and other Indiana counties as well as in other states.
The commissioners discussed their concerns which include what happens when a large solar energy system is decommissioned and who is responsible for that clean-up and restoration of the land. Bonding for that process was also a concern. How much energy is staying in the county for use was also questioned as some companies farm out the energy to other communities and out-of-state.
A public hearing drew comments from Deb VanDeMark who owns farmland near the Burr Oak area. She said several neighboring farmers have agreed to lease farmland to companies for solar farms and expressed concern about property values, decommissioning and the length of the lease. She mentioned that a vendor who approached her family about a sale said the term would be 25 years plus another 25 year renewal. She questioned economic development of the systems and the fact that the companies are requesting tax abatements to develop the farms.
County Insurance Consultant Mike Miley urged the plan commission members to talk to a bonding agent to review the bonding process with the solar systems.
In the end, the commissioners voted to approve the ordinance amendments on the first reading with the understanding that more work needs to be done on the content. The plan commission does not meet again until Jan. 24 so the commissioners plan to discuss what changes they’d like to see during their meetings in January.
