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Commissioners reopen solar ordinance discussion, urge economic development agreements before permitting
Summary
Delaware County Commissioners voted to return the county's proposed solar ordinance to active discussion and said any large-scale projects should have economic development agreements in place before permitting. Commissioners also discussed National Grid Renewables's sale and a separate federal grant application by AEP for a small modular reactor.
Delaware County Commissioners on Monday voted to remove county solar permitting from the table and reopen discussions about setbacks, special-use standards and requiring economic development agreements before a permit is issued.
The action followed a lengthy update from a commissioner who said the county has received many public emails and that work on an ordinance is ongoing with the planning commission and county legal counsel. The commissioner said he had recently seen a public meeting exhibit from National Grid Renewables showing panel layouts and noted National Grid Renewables has been acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.
"People generally believe there's a place for solar with the right guardrails in place," the commissioner said during the update. He asked that the county consider requiring economic development agreements, and that those agreements be settled before permitting so companies know the financial terms up front.
The commissioner also warned that the county's special-use standards (Article 31) include criteria that a special use "will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, convenience, or general welfare" and that it "will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity." He said those standards will be part of the planning commission review.
Commissioners also discussed an unrelated energy item: a presentation about small modular reactors and a federal grant application by American Electric Power. The commissioner described a proposed federal grant AEP is pursuing to support demonstrations of modern small modular reactor designs and noted such reactors use different cooling approaches than large lake-cooled units. He did not propose any county action related to that application.
Votes and next steps
The commission voted in open session to place the solar matter back on the active agenda for further work with planning staff and county counsel. No ordinance was adopted; commissioners instructed staff to continue ordinance drafting and talks with the planning commission and legal counsel.
What the discussion means
Bringing solar back onto the agenda signals the county will continue negotiating setbacks, screening and economic-benefit terms rather than leaving permitting unchanged. Commissioners emphasized that any final permitting path will have to satisfy the county's special‑use standards and the planning commission review.
The county did not approve or adopt a new ordinance at the March 3 meeting. Further hearings and a formal planning-commission process are expected before any permit is issued.
