CLINTON — Solar energy lately is occupying some serious time with local governments. The city council recently had its latest round of discussions with a solar developer, and this week it was again the county board’s turn.
The county board’s land use committee talked Monday about fine tuning the county’s commercial solar energy ordinance. Board members aren’t necessarily receptive to an influx of interested solar developers, but they recognize the technology is expanding and want the ordinance to be ready.
Committee vice chairman Patrick Ryan suggested before the committee’s solar discussion began that the county should not actively encourage solar developers to come to DeWitt County.
The county is prohibited by the state from banning such developments, but committee members felt the county’s ordinance should address theirs and the public’s concerns to prevent any unwanted effects.
Solar battery storage has been a hot topic as the land use committee has worked through refining the ordinance. Although the focus of county officials’ talks have been about commercial solar energy operations and their battery storage facilities, committee chairman Buck Carter felt the zoning board of appeals (ZBA) had not seriously considered the emerging market for residential solar battery storage. This is common in home solar electric back-up systems as well as whole-house systems that can power a home entirely, in some cases.
• Read the complete story in the Friday, April 18 print edition of the Clinton Journal or now in the Journal E-Edition for subscribers.
