Solar developer seeks preliminary/final approval; commission questions six above‑ground utility poles

Associate planner Paul Keane introduced the Chestertown Community Energy Initiative application for a utility-scale solar array at 10263 Wharton Road. The proposed project would use roughly 16 acres of a 72.78-acre parcel, install a 35-foot perimeter landscaping buffer, and avoid tree clearing or wetland disturbance. Staff recommended preliminary plan approval.

Applicant representatives said the array is a 2-megawatt, single-axis tracker system. Jack Rollin, director of development for the applicant (ECA Power), and Ted Hastings (Becker Morgan Associates) described stormwater and landscape submittals under review, a preliminary decommissioning plan, and a maintenance approach that includes a pollinator meadow mix under the panels. Rollin said they had submitted a letter from Delmarva Power expressing preference for an above-ground crossing and noted technical complications for an underground bore: existing sewer force main, fiber lines and a roadside swale. He also raised a PFAS concern in groundwater as an additional reason to avoid extensive east-side digging.

Rollin told the commission a third-party accounting estimate projected personal-property-tax revenue to the county of just under $1,300,000 over a 35-year project life, with the first-year personal-property tax around $70,000 (2.55% personal-property tax rate applied for energy-generating facilities, as described in the presentation). Public commenters asked about irrigation and maintenance of landscaping, the size of the decommissioning bond (noted in discussion as about $385,000), and potential herbicide use adjacent to an organic dairy. The applicant said maintenance would be handled by contracted crews, sometimes using local firms such as Miller Brothers.

Commissioners expressed concern that the county's ordinance requires underground utilities for utility-scale sites and questioned why the applicant and Delmarva preferred above-ground poles. The applicant and Delmarva representatives cited buried utility conflicts and potential soil PFAS as reasons to prefer an overhead run but said they could pursue underground crossing if required. The commission voted to grant preliminary approval with the stipulation that the issue of six above-ground utility poles on the east side of Wharton Road be addressed to the satisfaction of planning staff and the zoning department.

Representative quote: "Their estimate over the project's, 35 year life, would accrue just under 1,300,000 in personal property taxes for the county," said Jack Rollin during the presentation.