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Union County adopts commercial solar facility ordinance and road-use agreement; sets fees, screening, decommissioning and road protections
Summary
The Board approved a 15-page ordinance to regulate commercial solar energy facilities and a companion road-use agreement. The ordinance sets per-megawatt application and permit fees, requires fencing and vegetative screening, mandates decommissioning plans, and forces developers to address road impacts and agricultural runoff.
The Union County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt an ordinance establishing rules for commercial solar energy facilities and approved a companion road-use agreement that requires developers to pay for road impacts and vehicle-routing studies.
Staff presenting the ordinance described it as a 15-page commercial-solar facility ordinance intended to cover small projects and larger farms. Staff said the ordinance "is a commercial solar project ordinance" and clarified it does not apply to rooftop or residential systems installed for personal use.
Key provisions the board discussed include:
- Fees: an application fee proposed at $1,500 per megawatt with a maximum permit fee of $200,000, and a building/permit fee proposed at $5,000 per megawatt, prorated for smaller projects.
- Site design and screening: a requirement for a 6-foot fence around facilities and a vegetative screen inside the fence between panels and neighboring properties to reduce visual impacts.
- Construction, standards and insurance: compliance with applicable ANSI and statutory standards, insurance requirements for developers, and maintenance obligations.
- Decommissioning: a mandatory decommissioning and deconstruction plan to ensure equipment removal and site restoration if a facility is abandoned or becomes obsolete.
- Road-use agreement: developers must submit a traffic/transportation plan and enter a road-use agreement if heavy equipment or materials will use county roads or bridges; the work and any road upgrades are the developer's responsibility if the roads cannot safely carry the loads.
- Agricultural impacts: the ordinance incorporates an agricultural impact agreement described by staff as mandatory under applicable environmental provisions (referenced in the discussion as "section 147" of the environmental code) to address runoff, erosion, and other effects on farmland.
Staff also raised emerging equipment risks reported in national news items, such as claims about remote shutdown mechanisms in some imported equipment, and suggested the county may update the ordinance as technology and standards evolve.
During discussion commissioners and staff asked about enforcement and cleanup if a developer walked away after damage or bankruptcy. Staff said insurance provisions and county remedies in road-use agreements and permit conditions are intended to provide remedies and allow the county to withhold payments or require cleanup if needed. Staff said the assessor's office will monitor installations the same way it monitors other improvements for property assessments and permitting compliance.
A motion to adopt the ordinance governing commercial solar energy facility siting and a separate motion to approve the road-use agreement carried with affirmative votes from Commissioners Harville, Pitts, Miller, Bierstadt and Gould.
Board members said the ordinance is a starting point that can be amended in the future as projects and technology change; staff said they are also working on a separate wind-energy ordinance.
