The Marshall County Commissioners were presented with an amendment to a solar ordinance which gives the county stricter guidelines on the installation of solar projects.
Marshall County Plan Director Ty Adley said this addresses some concerns brought forth by the commissioners.
“We understand there’s been concerns in terms of decommissioning, the construction process, the health and environmental concerns, as well as whether or not there is a benefit to the community, and the property values and how those are effected,” said Adley.
Adley said the ordinance now has 20 conditions a large solar farm project must follow before it is initiated in Marshall County.
Adley continued, “Again you still have the same setback height, lot coverage, and drainage, but we’re tacking in going through buffers, going through drainage board, TRC, flood plain considerations, security, lighting, getting more defined decommissioning, traffic management plans, as well as a very spelled out process in terms of bonding.”
The Board of Zoning Appeals has the option of leveraging additional conditions on top of what is proposed in the ordinance.
A public hearing found comments from Ed Allen who brought additional information pertaining to environmental hazards including the chemicals in solar panels, power outputs and general operations. Chris Kline from Cardno spoke on the benefits of providing jobs to those who work in the field of solar energy plus the benefit of the technology while Adam Thada once again offered his help to be on a committee to gather more research.
The commissioners decided to approve the ordinance on the first reading. Legal counsel for the county and Marshall County Plan Commission will discuss more with Barnes and Thornburg officials to talk more about the decommissioning system, bonding and tax abatement information. County Attorney Jim Clevenger stressed that the county can amend the ordinance as needed if more provisions are realized.
The commissioners also approved a solar fee ordinance. A developer would pay per acre for a permit. All measurements are measured in panel square feet. A micro solar project permit would be $40, a small project would be $80, a medium project would be $150, a large project would be $250, a solar energy farm would be $25 a panel acre. That ordinance was approved on first reading.
A moratorium on building large solar farms was proposed by the commissioners to the plan commission and Plan Director Ty Adley brought forward wording that reads no solar energy systems greater than 10 acres in size will be accepted by the plan commission for a year, but that can be amended, if needed. The ordinance was approved with a unanimous vote on all three readings.
With that, a task force will be formed to research more on the topic of decommissioning and bonding for a solar farm project. Commissioner Stan Klotz will be on the task force along with Adam Thada, and Ty Adley as the initial membership. More members will be included in the near future.
As a side note, County Attorney Jim Clevenger asks that any land owner looking to sign a lease with a solar energy company should hire an attorney to carefully scrutinize the contract.
