Hearings on three solar farms before Sussex planning and zoning
GEORGETOWN — The Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission has three public hearings scheduled for its Feb. 18 session concerning conditional uses for solar arrays on about 178.75 acres of land.
The first concerns RWE Clean Energy, which wants to construct a solar array on about 69 acres on the south side of Del. 54, near the intersection with Cliff Road and about a mile from the junction with U.S. 113, northwest of Selbyville.
The parcel is currently zoned agricultural residential, as are the surrounding lots, but the 2018 Comprehensive Plan lists this lot and the surrounding area as “developing.”
The “developing” designation is applied to newer, emerging growth areas facing development pressure. According to the plan, most developing areas are adjacent to or within future annexation areas of a municipality, or near town centers.
Though Selbyville is only about 2 miles away, the address of the site is given as Frankford, and the name of the proposed farm is Frankford A Solar Project.
Of the 69 acre parcel, only about 25 acres are slated for use in the solar array, according to the developer’s application to Sussex County.
Con Edison Development Inc. is the developer, on behalf of the applicant, RWE Clean Energy. According to Con Edison, the proposed facility will consist of tracker solar panels, conduit, inverters/transformers, transmission lines, an access driveway, security fencing and stormwater management.
According to the site plan, the panels are to be placed at the rear of the property, well away from the road.
Next on the published agenda, is an application by Greentek LLC for a solar array along both the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 113 between Millsboro and Dagsboro, near the intersection with Molly Field Road.
This land has two zoning classifications, commercial for the areas nearest U.S. 113, and agricultural residential for the rest. The same holds true for the surrounding parcels, according to the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Department.
In the application, the developer included it expected this site to generate 12 megawatts of power when completed.
Maps submitted to the county do not include the proposed locations of the solar panels on the lots.
The final public hearing scheduled for the session concerns FFP De Vines Creek LLC’s application for a solar farm along the north side Vines Creek Road in Dagsboro, about one-third mile from Sandy Landing Road.
This lot is nearly 25 acres, and is zoned agricultural residential, as is the properties that surround it. The comprehensive plan designated all the properties in the area as “Coastal Areas,” which are designated for growth.
The plan notes the region is “among the most desirable location in Sussex County for new housing.”
According to the submitted site plan, the panels will be located closer to Vines Creek Road than to the rear of the lot, but well within the established setbacks required by the county.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., is streamed on a 30-second delay via the county’s website, and public hearings occur near the end of the meetings.
Staff writer Brian Gilliland can be reached at bg@iniusa.org.