Caroline County moves to intervene in two solar projects, warns state preemption bill could limit local control

Caroline County commissioners and the county attorney’s office said Tuesday they have intervened in a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) application for a solar project near Federalsburg and are preparing to intervene in a second, nearby project, while warning that pending state legislation could remove local land‑use and tax authority for utility‑scale solar.

County Attorney Stuart Barrow told commissioners the county received a roughly 200‑page application from Chaberton Solar Pahar LLC and “pointed out in a filing to the public utility law judge that the application is not complete.” Barrow said the Department of Natural Resources’ Power Plant Research Program (PPRP) filed that the application was complete, and a public utility law judge subsequently set the matter to proceed. “The application is in this binder. It's about 200 pages. I have read it,” Barrow said, describing the county’s next steps: written interrogatories to the applicant, preparation of written testimony from county staff and outside counsel and participation in two forthcoming public hearings (one virtual, one in‑person) before the Public Service Commission process.

Barrow and outside counsel Jesse Hammock (Easton)…