Planners debate $100,000 annual community‑impact fee for utility solar projects

Members of the Emery County Planning Commission spent the bulk of their Sept. 9 meeting refining a draft solar ordinance and debating whether to add an annual community-impact payment for utility-scale projects.

A commissioner said she had “put a 100,000 in there per year too” as an initial figure for section 9’s community-impact and benefit provisions. Other commissioners asked for background on comparable arrangements, whether the fee should be annual or one‑time and how it would be administered. One attendee noted a prior one‑time payment of $200,000 by a solar company to a local school district as an example of how companies have supported community needs.

Commissioners proposed several options for structuring the payment, including scaling by project size (cost per megawatt or cost per acre), line‑item budgeting so the funds are traceable and a host/community fund administered by the county. Several members said they would research similar projects in other jurisdictions before advancing a final number.

The commission did not adopt a fee at the meeting; members agreed to send the draft to the county attorney for legal review and schedule a public hearing after revisions are complete.