Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solar Energy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kent County planning commission grants preliminary and final approvals for multiple solar projects, conditions set on landscaping and sureties
Summary
The Planning Commission on March 5 approved preliminary and final site plans for several community and utility‑scale solar projects — including a 1‑MW Chinkapin Solar preliminary approval and a 5‑MW final approval for Edmonds Creek Solar — and required conditions on irrigation, landscaping maintenance agreements, stormwater and decommissioning sureties.
The Kent County Planning Commission voted March 5 to approve preliminary or final site plans for a series of community and utility‑scale solar projects and to attach standard conditions for landscaping, stormwater controls and decommissioning sureties.
Chinkapin Solar (Halo Wharton LLC): Planning staff recommended preliminary approval for an approximately 1 megawatt community solar project on an 11.86‑acre parcel on Chinquapin Road. Counsel for the applicant identified the project as "Chinkapin Solar" and said the project proposes 60‑foot landscape buffers on all sides, an automated irrigation component and a decommissioning plan with a draft bond in place. Civil engineer Sean Miller said the array has two reported capacity metrics: "I believe this project has 1.5 megawatts AC and 1 megawatt DC," he said, describing the difference between panel DC output and the AC figure reported to the grid.
Edmonds Creek Solar (Halo Warwick LLC): The commission also granted final site‑plan approval for a 5‑megawatt project at 12206 Galena Road, which had previously received a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the Public Service Commission. Counsel and engineers said the project’s limits of disturbance are about 31 acres on a 338‑acre parcel, with 60‑foot buffer plantings proposed and setbacks of roughly 200 feet from the surrounding roads. The applicant confirmed required legal agreements, sureties for stormwater, erosion control and decommissioning, and a vegetative maintenance agreement have been submitted in draft form to the county.
Peacock Corner Road (TPE Maryland / KE 51 LLC): A combined preliminary and final site‑plan request for a 40.9‑acre, 5‑MW facility near Millington was presented and approved subject to the standard conditions: final approval of landscape maintenance and decommissioning plans, approval of septic reserve area for an on‑site dwelling where required, and sureties for stormwater and sediment control.
Commissioners focused significant discussion on landscape establishment and long‑term maintenance. Several commissioners questioned whether truck‑watering is sufficient for buffer plantings; applicant representatives said truck watering was approved by the Public Service Commission for projects that went through CPCN and that counties typically hold multi‑year planting bonds (applicants said five years for large projects) and contractor warranties to ensure replacements for initial plant mortality. The commission attached conditions requiring finalized landscape maintenance agreements, stormwater and sediment control approvals and execution of decommissioning and other surety instruments before final county sign‑off.
Why it matters: These approvals permit construction to move forward pending completion of required technical and legal conditions. The projects also carry community‑engagement obligations (public meetings and subscriber outreach for community solar) and include low‑and‑moderate‑income (LMI) subscription provisions for community solar projects.
What’s next: Each approval is conditioned on final technical plans and execution of sureties; applicants must satisfy county conditions before final construction permits are issued.
