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Caroline County adopts zoning amendment tightening rules for solar and battery facilities
Summary
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved text amendment 03-2026 on June 23, adding definitions, monitoring, notification and decommissioning requirements for solar and energy-storage projects; the ordinance sets a half-mile notification radius and requires applicant-prepared decommissioning agreements subject to county review.
Caroline County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously June 23 to adopt a zoning text amendment aimed at regulating solar energy projects and associated energy storage facilities.
The ordinance, adopted 6-0, updates definitions and adds technical requirements covering battery condition, state of charge and battery monitoring; it also broadens the county’s substation definition to cover facilities and associated equipment beyond strictly electrical installations. Planning staff told the board the changes implement both Planning Commission recommendations and language required to align with recent state statutes.
Why it matters: the amendment aims to provide clearer technical standards for developers and stronger protections for neighbors, including notification, noise limits, monitoring and financial guarantees for decommissioning.
Key provisions and board decisions - Definitions and technical data: Staff said new language adds definitions for “battery condition,” “state of charge” and “battery monitoring” and asks applicants to supply equipment data sheets, including panel dimensions and material safety data sheets for battery chemistries. - Notification and public outreach: After debate, the board agreed applicants must notify property owners within a half mile from the property edge and provide a general countywide notice (a paper of general circulation plus county alert methods such as Carolina Alert). The board directed that mailed notice within the half-mile radius accompany broader public announcements. - Noise and inverters: The ordinance sets a practical noise-control approach — staff recommended measurements pre- and post-construction at identical locations within a one-mile radius, and the board added inverter-orientation and sound-attenuation expectations so equipment focuses sound inward and reduces low-frequency propagation. - Decommissioning and financial assurances: The county will create a template decommissioning agreement applicants must use; applicants prepare the document and the county will review and finalize the required form. The board removed language allowing salvage value to reduce assurance calculations and debated acceptable financial guarantees (bond, letter of credit, trust). Members raised concerns that accessing bond funds can require legal action if an operator or owner becomes insolvent. - Ownership changes and renewals: The board kept language requiring notification of any change in ownership and a new financial guarantee and updated cost estimate when ownership transfers. Staff noted the statute requires periodic renewal of assurances (every five years). - Roadway and site protections: The amendment requires a roadway condition assessment and analysis, with scope agreed upon by VOTE and the county, to establish pre-construction conditions and tie applicant responsibilities to repairs. - Monitoring appendix: Staff recommended and the board agreed to include an NFPA 855–based appendix as a technical guide for monitoring systems.
Board action: Supervisor Miss Hughes moved to adopt the amendment with Planning Commission and board recommendations; Mr. Black seconded. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0.
What comes next: Staff said the county will finalize the ordinance language and the decommissioning template and implement administrative practices for review, notifications and monitoring. Projects seeking approvals will continue to go through the Planning Commission and, where required, special-exception review for accessory battery storage.
Quoted (selected) "We have added some language that you'll see later that talks about what we will ask for specifically as it relates to battery monitoring," said planning staff member Mr. Hughes, summarizing the new technical definitions and submission requirements.
"The project shall not impact the county's water resources and shall use water from an alternative source approved by the county," staff said when describing proposed language for fire-suppression water sourcing.
The board adopted the amendment and closed the item; detailed implementing procedures and templates will follow.
