Woolwich voters at the annual town meeting Wednesday, May 17 will consider an ordinance requiring oversight and performance standards for future solar energy projects. A required public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. May 10 in the town office hearing room.

As stated, the purpose of the ordinance is to establish a review procedure and performance standards for residential, commercial and industrial solar energy systems, including those typically called solar farms. Among the proposed guidelines are height restrictions for roof-mounted systems and setback requirements for ground-mounted solar panels. The proposed ordinance also addresses decommissioning – the removal of solar arrays no longer being used to generate electricity.

Included within the ordinance are proposed, solar energy system (SES) application fees. In an email to Wiscasset Newspaper, Selectman Tommy Davis explained, “the application fees are one-time when the initial application is done.” He added, there is also a required five-year inspection of SES’s. The inspection also carries fees.

Developers of “industrial” solar energy systems would be required to pay a one-time $2,500 application fee; industrial is defined within the ordinance as “a system used primarily for the production of energy for the power grid.” A “Commercial” SES project – defined as one “producing energy primarily for use at a property where the applicant operates a business, or where the applicant rents or leases space to another individual or entity for business purposes” – has a $1,000 application fee.

Applicants installing “residential” SESs using either ground or roof-mounted solar panels would pay a standard building permit fee. As defined within the ordinance, they must be “used for producing energy primarily for use at the property where the applicant resides, this includes authorized home businesses.” Davis explained, “a ‘standard’ building permit in Woolwich is based on square footage: 0.10/sq. ft. for unfinished areas, and 0.15/sq. ft. for finished areas.” Permits are issued by the code enforcement officer.  

Planned commercial and industrial SESs are required to be inspected prior to the first anniversary of their commissioning date, and hence every five years thereafter. As stated in the ordinance, the “fee is intended to account for the costs of providing the annual inspections by the Code Enforcement Officer and the Fire Chief, or their Consultant.” The proposed inspection fee for a commercial SES is $1,000, plus $500 per megawatt installed; industrial SES, $2,500, plus $500 per MW installed.

The ordinance restricts commercial and industrial SESs to Woolwich’s rural-zoned and general purpose districts, an exception being for town-owned properties. Furthermore it states, “No solar energy systems shall be permitted in the Shoreland Zone.” If approved by voters, the ordinance will become part of the town’s land use/zoning ordinances. It will take effect immediately upon enactment by voters and remain in effect until amended or repealed.

Davis was the select board representative on the five-member committee charged with drafting the ordinance. “The committee met every one or two weeks for about 90 minutes, for a total of about nine meetings beginning in January. We got our final draft completed on April 19,” noted Davis. Residents serving on the committee included Robin Buczkowski, Evan Holbrook, Paul Kempf, Debbie Locke and Darrin Stairs. Town attorney Kristin Collins provided legal guidance.