County council hears more on solar energy
Panels are being installed at the solar farm on Billy Farrow Highway/Gilchrist Road, owned by Darlington Solar, LLC.
Photo by Jana E. Pye
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Darlington County Council heard more from developers and citizens on both sides of the solar energy issue at their November 7 regular meeting, but ultimately council decided to delay voting on proposed amendments to the county’s renewable energy ordinance.
Ordinance 16-19 came up for a public hearing and second reading at this meeting, and one person – Raleigh, NC-based developer Jon Davis of Capital Solar – spoke during the public hearing. Davis asked council to reconsider some of the proposed changes to local solar farm construction codes, saying these changes would be very costly and could dissuade solar energy companies from building in Darlington County.
Specifically, Davis objected to “extreme” setbacks requiring solar farms to be at least 500 feet away from the nearest residence, and a suggestion that berms (earthen embankments) be built around solar farm sites.
“Berms are extremely expensive to build. If you have to build a five-foot berm and put plants and vegetation on it, you probably won’t even do a solar facility,” Davis said.
He also noted that a proposed 500-acre limit on solar farm footprints could be too restrictive.
“It’s a little bit small. If you’re doing a 100 megawatt site, it’s about 600 acres plus,” said Davis.
Davis added that proposed noise restrictions limiting sound to below 55 decibels can be met by locating power inverters toward the center of the solar panel arrays.
Davis said he is currently looking at developing several large solar energy farm sites in South Carolina, and hopes to collaborate with frequent partner Duke Energy to harvest the power generated at these sites.
Citizens Hal Johnson and Billy Jack Johnson thanked council for staging a solar energy work session (held November 3 at Hartsville Middle School), but both men noted that the presentations that evening were all pro-solar energy.
“The negative or con arguments were non-existent,” said Hal Johnson, who expressed concerns over potential changes to the county’s solar energy ordinance.
Johnson said that the first several proposed solar farms in Darlington County were in the 1 to 2 megawatt range, and he felt that efforts to expand solar farm maximum size to above 500 acres were not “in any way necessary.” He added that the maximum proposed height of photovoltaic panels should be limited, noting that some panels could stand as high as 14 feet, rendering most landscaped screening useless.
“A fourteen foot panel with a ten foot buffer, you’re gonna see the top of it all day long,” said Johnson.
Johnson said he supported the requirement for a $50,000 decommissioning bond to pay for cleanup after a solar site goes offline, and he agreed with the requirement for a 500-foot setback from the nearest residence.
When Ordinance 16-19 came up for a vote, council opted to carry it over and send it back to the Darlington County Planning Commission, allowing that body to consider and incorporate information from the Nov. 3 work session.