Kent County grants preliminary approval for Edmonds Creek community solar project

The Kent County Planning Commission voted Jan. 8 to grant preliminary site-plan approval for the Edmonds Creek Solar community project, proposed by Tree Line Harvesting LLC and operated by Halo Warwick LLC at 12206 Galena Road in Massey. Commissioners moved that final approval be conditioned on completion of required county, state and federal permits; a landscape maintenance agreement and irrigation plan; approved sediment and stormwater management plans and sureties; and a decommissioning plan and bond in accordance with the Unified Development Ordinance.

Planning staff told the commission the project is consistent with the county comprehensive plan and the county unified development standards for utility-scale solar. Staff said the array layout would disturb only a portion of the 338.6-acre parcel (applicants noted the limit of disturbance is substantially less than the total parcel) and that proposed perimeter plantings—60-foot buffers in some locations—exceed the county's 35-foot buffer requirement.

Applicant representatives, including engineer Sean Miller and counsel for the owner, confirmed the project had received a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) from the Maryland Public Service Commission, a state-level permit required for construction and operation of facilities above the state threshold. The applicants said they would provide the required legal agreements and sureties to planning staff prior to final site-plan review and that they would hold a virtual citizen-participation meeting in the evening to explain subscription and enrollment procedures.

Commissioners pressed the applicants on two issues: overhead utility poles required for the interconnection and how low- and moderate-income (LMI) subscribers would be identified and enrolled. Applicants said they had an email from Delmarva Power documenting the need for on-site poles for the interconnection and pledged to provide that documentation to staff. An applicant representative who identified himself by the first name Mike explained subscription mechanics: each project has a subscription coordinator; residents can enroll online or during an enrollment period; 40% of subscriptions are statutorily reserved for LMI customers and the applicants said those subscribers would receive a discount on their bills.

The planning commission's motion approving the preliminary plan reiterated that all county and state conditions, including the landscape and decommissioning agreements and required sureties, must be satisfied before final approval.

The commission did not set a construction timetable; applicants said state permits and remaining local approvals would be in place before construction begins.