The intent of a 120-day moratorium on the permitting of new solar farms in Halifax County is not to shut them down, but to give the planning board and ultimately the board of commissioners time to study proposed amendments to an ordinance that was adopted in 2019.

Commissioners Monday evening, with Sammy Webb absent, approved the moratorium following a public hearing in which no one spoke in the affirmative on the matter.

Several, including representatives of the Roanoke Rapids-based Center for Energy Education, spoke against the moratorium.

Before Commissioner Carolyn Johnson voted to adopt the moratorium on a second by Chenoa Richardson Davis, Linda Brewer said, “I think the most important thing is that the public and anyone here, anyone watching, listening understands this is not a move to shut down solar farms. I think that’s so important that we understand that because if I had sat out there and picked this up that would be my thought and personally, I know for myself, no one on this board is choosing to shut down solar farms in Halifax County.”

Replied board Chair Vernon Bryant, “And if we were in church, all God’s people would say amen.”

Discussion of a moratorium first came up during a board meeting earlier this month. That proposal was sparked from a meeting in September in which several speakers discussed a project in the Sand Pit Road-Old 125 area of Scotland Neck which is currently under construction.

County Attorney Glynn Rollins, in addressing a question by Davis, said the moratorium does not halt projects that are currently under construction. “For example you have folks here from American Beech (the Scotland Neck project) — that project is well underway. Anyone who has already received a special use permit from the board of adjustment continues on with their project.”

Rollins said during the discussion before the vote, “I don’t want there to be a misunderstanding here. There’s no intention here to stop having solar projects in Halifax County. The intention is to make amendments to our ordinance and I frankly think that it’s prudent to have a moratorium while you’re considering amendments because otherwise you may have an application that’s coming in for zoning permits and special use permits and without the moratorium there is confusion about which ordinance amendments are going to apply and which aren’t. This is to make it clear that we want to consider changes and not have that confusion and it’s not a long period of time to make proper consideration of amendments.”

Mozine Lowe, the executive director of C4EE, said this morning, “I appreciate the commissioners’ public statement of support for solar but I’m disappointed they voted for a moratorium. While it does not stop any approved projects underway, they missed the point of appearance to folks outside of Halifax County and to a growing industry willing to invest in the area.”

Said Lowe: “ C4EE ‘s role is to provide community engagement opportunities with our community and industry partners to ensure successful outcomes. We believe community concerns could have been addressed without a moratorium.”

In documentation prepared for the board’s October 7 meeting, county Planning Director Chris Rountree noted revisions that are under consideration and include the following:

A 150-foot setback from the front property line/right of way and a 50-foot setback from the side and rear property lines

A 150-foot setback from adjacent residences, churches, schools, businesses or similar structures

A 100-foot minimum setback from adjacent water bodies, wetlands, or any other additional setback required by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources or any other jurisdictional authority.

In the decommissioning section the following amendments are noted:

The estimated market value of scrap or recyclable materials shall not be considered in calculating the decommissioning cost

The operator or leaseholder shall notify the county on a yearly basis concerning ownership of the solar operation 

The performance security shall be adjusted accordingly before the date of recording the decommissioning plan.