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Planning Commission discusses solar facility study, buffers, farmland protection and battery-storage rules
Summary
The commission discussed a Solar Facility Study without setting a timeline, listing issues including acreage limits used by Rockingham and Stafford, prohibiting solar on recently clear-cut parcels, buffer standards, protection of prime farmland, tree-cutting and air-quality impacts, project-area definitions, preferred locations, contiguous-parcel preference, Pollinator Smart Program and whether battery storage needs its own ordinance.
The Lunenburg County Planning Commission continued discussion of a Solar Facility Study at its Dec. 7 meeting, listing multiple ordinance issues the commission wants staff to research but agreeing there is no set timeline for action.
Chairman James Tharpe led a commission discussion that enumerated specific points to consider for any local solar facility ordinance: compare acreage thresholds and other standards used in Rockingham and Stafford counties; consider prohibiting solar on parcels that have been clear-cut or replanted within the last five years; require and maintain vegetative or other buffers; weigh loss of agricultural and prime farmland designations; address tree cutting and associated air-quality concerns; clarify how “project area” is defined (the fenced generating footprint versus the total acreage under developer control); prioritize off-road and less visible locations; prefer contiguous parcels to scattered parcels; encourage or require participation in Pollinator Smart Program practices; and clarify distance-between-project rules for permitted, constructed and in-process projects. Commissioners also raised whether battery storage should be addressed in a separate ordinance because "currently no project is permitted to have battery storage."
The minutes record these as topics for staff and further commission consideration; no ordinance language was adopted at the meeting and no vote was recorded. The commission announced its next meeting for Jan. 4, 2024; further action on the Solar Facility Study will appear on a future agenda if staff bring draft language or recommendations back to the commission.
