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Panel debates solar and wind overlays, accessory solar rules and battery storage
Summary
The commission reviewed proposed energy overlays: a principal wind energy overlay along a ridgeline that staff called unlikely due to topography, and detailed accessory solar rules that would permit rooftop and small ground‑mounted panels townshipwide while leaving large solar farms limited to industrial areas.
Commissioners discussed two related items: a principal wind energy facility overlay that would touch a ridgeline parcel and a set of proposed rules for solar — distinguishing accessory rooftop/ground‑mounted installations from principal solar farms.
On the wind overlay, the Chair said setbacks shrink the buildable area along the ridgeline (identified as Bear Mountain) and that county conversations suggest the topography makes a wind farm unlikely. "If a wind farm were to come here ... it would most likely locate on the ridgeline of the mountain," the Chair said, but noted the property does not score highly for commercial wind development.
On solar, the Chair read draft definitions and said accessory solar (rooftop and small ground‑mounted systems that serve the principal use and may net‑meter back to the grid) is proposed townshipwide. "Solar arrays are permitted in the industrial district as a conditional use atop existing industrial buildings," the Chair said, adding the draft would allow accessory installations across zones with screening and setbacks.
Several commissioners warned that making accessory solar broadly permitted could limit the feasibility or demand for large solar farms and debated where to map a principal solar overlay; members generally favored keeping the principal overlay in industrial areas where an existing large farm sits (the map point identified near Sanofi). Commissioner 10 raised concerns about battery storage: "...if they do have batteries or something of that nature, what is stopping them from storing significant, power on that?" leading to a suggestion that thresholds for commercial production and storage be clarified.
No overlay changes were adopted; staff will refine the accessory‑vs‑principal definitions, add screening/setback language, and clarify how battery storage and thresholds for commercial generation will be regulated.
