Dorchester County commission recommends approval for 2 MW community solar on longstanding family farm

Dorchester County planning commissioners voted to recommend preliminary approval for a community-scale solar project proposed at 7012 Hubbard Road in Federalsburg.

The applicant’s representative, Joe Shanahan, told the commission the project would place a 2 megawatt AC ground-mounted solar array on a 32.99-acre parcel, with the landowners leasing 18 acres and the panels occupying about 12.5 acres. "This is a proposal to develop a solar project at 7012 Hubbard Road," Shanahan said while describing an equipment pad, transformer, a gated fence with a Knox box and a 16-foot gravel access drive.

The recommendation followed staff review and public materials submitted by the owners, Richard and Emily Thompson, who provided a letter read into the record saying the family wants to "subsidize the farm and its operations and preserve it from more intense development" and that the facility would be decommissioned and removed at the end of the lease. The project is located in an Agricultural Conservation (AC) zoning district; utility-scale solar systems require a special exception in that district and the commission separately forwarded a positive recommendation to the Board of Appeals on the special-exception request.

Why it matters: Commissioners emphasized two conditions: a decommissioning plan and financial surety must be provided (a requirement of county code) before the building permit stage, and landscaping/buffer plans must comply with county planting standards. Shanahan said his team will submit a draft decommissioning plan and surety bond before the applicant’s July Board of Appeals appearance and described industry practice of posting bonds that are reviewed every five years. He cited regional bonds for similar projects in the $250,000–$295,000 range as an example from prior work.

Details and debate: A consultant from Strong Environmental (identified in the record as Rebecca) said the planting plan would follow Dorchester County’s solar-buffer rules (chapter 155), with an outer row of evergreen trees and native understory plantings intended to provide screening and some pollinator habitat. Planning staff confirmed a forest-delineation document had been submitted and noted that recent state changes affected some afforestation requirements; staff said the county would still require any zoning buffers spelled out in chapter 155.

Commissioners tasked the applicant to provide maintenance details for plantings and to post short-term replacement or maintenance bonds to ensure vegetation establishment, citing past instances where plantings were not maintained after project completion. With those conditions noted, the commission voted in favor of a preliminary site-plan recommendation and then provided a separate positive recommendation to the Board of Appeals on the special-exception request.

What happens next: The Board of Appeals will consider the special-exception application; final permits and any required surety must be submitted in subsequent permitting steps.

Attribution: Quotes and attributions are drawn from the public record and staff presentation at the Dorchester County planning meeting. The applicant was represented by Joe Shanahan, who identified himself as a manager for project development for his firm; the application lists RWE Clean Energy DCE Development LLC as the listed applicant and property owners Richard and Emily Thompson supplied a written statement read into the record.

Ending: The commission’s positive recommendations advance the project to the Board of Appeals and to technical permitting steps where decommissioning, insurance and finalized planting and maintenance plans will be required.