Solar moratorium approved in Emery County
CASTLE DALE — The Emery County Commission approved a temporary moratorium on future commercial solar projects and directed county officials to move forward with ordinance changes that would classify large-scale industrial developments, including solar, data centers and nuclear facilities, as Level III conditional uses.
The actions came during the commission’s August 18 meeting, where commissioners also considered an appeal of the Emery County Planning Commission’s recent approval of a Level II conditional use permit for the Drunkard’s Wash Solar Project.
The Planning Commission approved the Level II permit Aug. 12. An appeal was subsequently filed within the county’s 10-day appeal period by Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, citing concerns about deer and elk winter range and migration corridors. Commissioner Jordan Leonard said those wildlife concerns were also concerns he shared.
Drunkard’s Wash has been discussed extensively by county officials throughout 2026. Earlier county records describe the proposed development as a roughly 4,000-acre solar project about five miles north of Huntington.
During the Aug. 18 discussion, Commissioner Keven Jensen questioned whether the commission could immediately act on the appeal and make a final decision on the project.
Commission Chairman Dennis Warwood cautioned against doing so without allowing all parties involved in the appeal an opportunity to respond.
Michael Hutchings, representing the Drunkard’s Wash applicant, said his side received a copy of the appeal approximately five minutes before the commission meeting and had not had a meaningful opportunity to review or respond to it. Hutchings said taking final action that day could create due process issues and said the applicant would appeal such a decision to district court.
The county’s legal counsel also recommended allowing time to review the matter before making a decision.
Leonard reiterated that he has publicly opposed the project, while Jensen expressed frustration with the county’s existing ordinance, which currently places qualifying commercial solar projects under Level II permitting.
A member of the Planning Commission read from Section 11-3-8 of the county zoning ordinance, which states that solar energy systems not qualifying for Level I permitting are subject to Level II requirements and are not considered industrial projects requiring a Level III conditional use permit, provided they do not use thermal combustion or conventional fossil fuels to generate electricity.
The commission ultimately voted unanimously to table the Drunkard’s Wash appeal pending additional legal review and an opportunity for the applicant to respond.
Immediately afterward, commissioners turned to a broader discussion about temporarily halting Level II and Level III permits while county ordinances are reviewed.
Leonard said he was concerned that a broad moratorium could unintentionally delay other businesses seeking permits. Commissioners instead narrowed the proposal specifically to commercial solar development.
During the discussion, Jensen suggested a moratorium lasting a few months and referenced six months, or 180 days, as a possibility. However, the final motion did not establish a specific length of time for the moratorium. Instead, commissioners voted to suspend future commercial solar applications under the applicable sections of the zoning ordinance until the county’s updated solar ordinance is approved.
The commission unanimously approved the moratorium on future commercial solar projects by temporarily suspending the commercial solar provision in Table 9 and Section 11-3-8 of the county zoning ordinance. The action does not apply to projects that have already entered the permitting process.
Jensen said the county has been discussing revisions to its solar regulations for months and argued that large solar developments should receive the additional scrutiny required under Level III permitting.
Commissioners followed the moratorium with another unanimous vote directing work to update county ordinances so large-scale industrial projects, including solar developments, data centers and nuclear projects, would be classified as Level III conditional uses.
Jensen said the change would ensure major projects ultimately come before the County Commission and give the public greater awareness of decisions involving large industrial developments. He noted that the county currently has little specific ordinance language addressing data centers or nuclear development.
Leonard made the motion to move forward with the ordinance updates, which was unanimously approved. Warwood emphasized that the action provides direction for future projects and begins the process of changing the county’s ordinances.