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JACKSON – A revised solar energy development ordinance was presented to the Northampton County Board of Commissioners during their meeting on June 2.

In July 2024, the commissioners enacted a temporary moratorium on new solar farm construction. That ban is set to expire June 30, 2025.

During the moratorium period, the county’s Planning Board put together an updated version of the county’s solar energy ordinance. The new document lays out permit requirements, setback requirements, other limitations, decommissioning regulations, construction waste management plans, a maximum density of facilities allowed, and more.

Jason McAllister, the county’s new Code Enforcement Director, presented the ordinance and answered questions at Monday’s meeting.

“The citizens have been really vocal about their concerns,” he explained.

He noted that one of the most common complaints they’ve received about solar facilities was about how construction material is dealt with. Some developers must clear-cut woodland before they begin construction, and neighboring communities often have to deal with heavy amounts of smoke from burning debris.

In several previous county commissioner meetings, citizens from the Vultare community outside of Gaston have regularly spoken about the negative effects – including the smoke issue – that large-scale solar facility construction has had on themselves and the surrounding areas.

McAllister explained that the new ordinance requires at least 50 percent of the construction waste be recycled. He also said the county has a burn policy in place with Northampton County’s Fire Marshal that will address the burning issue.

The other major concern from citizens has been about the number of solar facilities in the county. McAllister pointed out that issue is addressed in the ordinance’s section about maximum density.

According to the ordinance, the county will set maximum density requirements in order to protect agricultural lands, endangered species habitats, conservation lands, and other sensitive lands. The Planning Board agreed to set the maximum density to five percent of the county’s total farm land/wooded land.

McAllister said of the county’s more than 342,000 total acres, 172,170 acres are farm land/wooded land. Five percent of that total is around 8,600 acres.

“We’re actually already over that allotted amount,” McAllister said, referring to solar facilities that have already been constructed or already have permits to construct.

Earlier in the meeting, Al Kwasikpui from Seaboard spoke during citizen comments to ask a few questions and make a few suggestions about the proposed ordinance.

In his remarks, he asked if permit fees would be included, and if solar facility developers would be required to pay a fee so that the county could afford to regularly inspect the facilities for compliance.

“We certainly can’t expect them to self-report,” Kwasikpui said.

He also thought the penalty for violations – set in the ordinance at $100 per day – was too low. After 30 days of violations, a lien will be placed on the property, and he questioned whether this would be an effective method to address violations.

The proposed ordinance includes a section about requiring a “Community Benefits Agreement” to encourage a positive impact on the county. The Economic Development Community Benefits Committee would draft the agreement. Members of that committee would include the Economic Development Director, the County Manager (or Assistant County Manager), one Northampton County Commissioner, the Chair of the Planning Board, and the County Attorney.

Kwasikpui suggested adding two regular citizens to the committee as well.

“Let’s get the people involved,” he requested.

During his remarks later in the meeting, McAllister addressed a few of Kwasikpui’s concerns, explaining that many parts of the ordinance were taken directly from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

The commissioners didn’t have any questions after the presentation, but Board Chair Ed Martin did note that it looked like some of the existing solar facilities had some issues complying with the required buffer zones.

McAllister said their department is small and they’re still working on ways to ensure they can keep track of compliance.

No action was taken by the commissioners on the proposed ordinance because the June 2 meeting was their regular non-voting meeting.