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Planning Commission, commissioners get first look at solar farm zoning rules
McCOOK, Neb. — Members of the Red Willow County Planning Commission and commissioners got their first look at possible zoning rules for solar farms.
County zoning rules for alternative energy were updated a couple of years ago, but plans for two solar farms, one northwest of McCook and one adjacent to the Pearson Addition north of McCook brought the issue to the forefront.
While no official proposals have been submitted to the planning commission, developers have been purchasing and leasing property for what would be the largest solar farms in the state. In response, county commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium on solar projects until zoning can be updated.
That moratorium expires July 9, but can be extended if commissioners so choose.
Consultant Keith Marvin of Marvin Planning Consultants of David City, Neb., and County Zoning Administrator Craig Bennett walked planning commissioners and county commissioners through options at a workshop Monday night in the Red Willow County district courtroom.
Possible zoning changes, which Marvin said were simply a “starting point,” would apply to solar farms greater than 100 kilowatts.
The changes are designed to achieve three goals:
• protect the tax base
• foster the state’s agriculture, recreation and other industries and
• Encouraging the most appropriate use of land in the county.
Issues discussed at Monday’s workshop included noise levels, how wildfires would be controlled, visual screening and decommissioning of the plants.
Under the suggested rules, no more than 20 percent of a tract of prime farmland could be converted to solar farms, or for example, 32 acres of a 160-acre quarter section of land.
Marvin said the facilities could be shielded from “non-participating” landowners by privacy walls or vegetation — possibly plants designed to attract pollinators to improve crop production.
While the draft presented Monday night did not include it, zoning could require adjoining landowners to receive payments.
The draft included quarter-mile setbacks from nonparticipating landowners and maximum noise levels of 5 decibels at the property line, which Marvin likened to the level of conversation at the workshop.
The proposal includes keeping solar arrays and powerlines away from canyons with loess soils, which are prone to erosion, and 12-foot graveled roads within the enclosure for fire trucks to use.
Planning Commission Chairman Jim Coady suggested that be expanded to 16 feet to accommodate larger rural fire department water trucks.
In response to a question, Marvin said local firefighters would be given information and training on how to deal with fires in onsite batteries, which would be as large as semi-trailers.
He said he doubted zoning rules could require a guarantee of in-lieu-of-tax payments in case a non-profit like NPPD or MPPD takes ownership of the facility, but could require a contract for the purchase of the power to be in place, as well as financial arrangements for decommissioning to be in place before construction begins.
Marvin said being on the approach to the airport would not be a problem for the solar farms, but he would put in place rules preventing a “lake effect,” which can fool waterfowl into attempting to land on the solar cells at noon when they are aimed directly overhead, creating the illusion of a pond.
Two Pearson Addition residents opposed that solar farm, but much of that facility will be located in the City of McCook’s zoning jurisdiction, not the county’s.
It will be up to the planning commission to approve the new regulations, which will then be submitted to the county commissioners for final approval.