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Planning Commission approves Boxwood Solar siting agreement as part of split recommendation
Summary
The Planning Commission voted 6–0 to recommend approval of a Siting Agreement for CEP Solar’s Boxwood project that would set per‑megawatt and voluntary payments to Halifax County if the project is later approved, while separately recommending denial of the CUP.
The Halifax County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a Siting Agreement with CEP Solar on June 16, even as it recommended denial of the project’s conditional use permit.
Staff told the joint meeting a Siting Agreement is a statutorily permitted contract under State code that allows developers to provide voluntary payments in addition to taxes. Zoning Administrator Detrick Easley said the Siting Agreement under negotiation included a $25,000 per‑megawatt payment schedule for the proposed 69 MW project and additional voluntary contributions selected from a County capital improvement list. "Under the Siting Agreement, the County would receive $25,000 per megawatt AC for the 69‑megawatt project, along with the voluntary payments," Easley said.
CEP Solar representatives reiterated that they had negotiated a Siting Agreement consistent with prior county agreements and said they viewed voluntary contributions as community investments. During the initial presentation CEP staff referenced approximately $1.7 million in voluntary payments over the life of the project and said some of that funding had been proposed for playground equipment at Edmunds Park and for the Liberty Volunteer Fire Department — although the transcript includes inconsistent numeric references for the Edmunds Park allotment (see audit). CEP also stated the company is open to further discussion with the local fire department about needs.
Planning Commissioners voted 6‑0 to forward a recommendation that the Board of Supervisors approve the Siting Agreement; that recommendation will accompany the Commission’s denial recommendation on the CUP when staff forwards the record.
What’s next: The Board of Supervisors will consider both the Conditional Use Permit and the Siting Agreement; if the Board approves the CUP, the Siting Agreement would govern the voluntary payment schedule and capital improvement recipients for the life of the project.
