WELCOME!
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Posted 12/10/19 - Minnesota Solar Panel Recycling Stakeholder WebEx
When Wed Dec 11, 2019 12:30pm – 4:30pm (CST) Wherehttps://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota Who MPCA (pollution control agency) Collaboration* For residents willing and able to attend this Web meeting on Solar Panel Recycling: This is an issue of immediate concern to Chisago County residents. As we host the largest amount of solar panels in the state, Chisago also stands to be hit with the long-term repercussions of solar panels leaching toxic chemicals, such as cadmium, during their productive lives and any toxic pollution caused by damaged panels or disassembly at decommissioning. Adoption of State and local policies for environmental protections are lagging far behind solar industry proliferation. Hopefully this event with kick-start some much needed planning for future recycling/disposal protocols for safely handling solar panels at their end-of-life. If you are able to join this conversation tomorrow, please take notes to share with your friendly neighborhood Communications Committee! And then, come to the Thursday night FTCC meeting @ 7:00 at the Franconia town hall and share what you learned!! Posted 12/9/19 - Chisago County will be going back into a Public Hearing on the Solar Ordinance in early 2020. It looks like the Planning Commission as tentatively chosen March to add it to their Agenda. The primary issues that FTCC hope to see more adequately addressed are: Increased Setbacks from Roads/Homes Density Landowner Protections Against Solar Hazardous Waste/Pollutants *See this article re: New Evidence of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals from Solar Panels Leaching during their Productive Lives, with Damage and at Decommissioning - https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23/if-solar-panels-are-so-clean-why-do-they-produce-so-much-toxic-waste/#3e8fa7f6121c |
Our Story Begins in November 2017 -
Brought together by the proliferation of Solar Installations along a short stretch of Olinda Trail, the Township Communications Committee was formed by a group of neighbors seeking to keep interested residents in Chisago County apprised of new developments.
This group of concerned citizens in Franconia Township approached the Chisago Zoning Administrator searching for constructive guidance on how the process might be made more transparent to residents, providing notification to neighbors and allowing for collaboration in the approval process so that the incoming Solar Projects might be made less intrusive to our rural areas. We were seeking specific restrictions regarding setbacks, standards for perimeter fencing and improvements in buffer screening. We were wanting to take a long-range view of how solar might negatively impact our rural atmosphere and propose reasonable restrictions on density, as the County does through the regulation of building permits throughout the various County Zones. We expressed concerns for the loss of prime farmland, as clearly not only marginal lands are being utilized for Solar Projects as was the initial understanding given to county and state residents when the North Star PUC Project was installed in the North Branch area.[1] Finally, we expressed numerous concerns about the safety, health and welfare issues that solar power generation raises for our residents as well as our soil and water quality.[2][3][4][5]
In December of 2017, on the order of the Board of Commissioners, the Zoning Staff posted a Public Hearing Notice to the County of Chisago for review of the current Solar Ordinance. That same month, the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors heard the concerns of its citizens and voted unanimously to approve a resolution written by community members requesting an immediate moratorium or repeal of the current County Solar Ordinance in order to freeze in-coming applications while the Public Hearing process was underway. This endorsed request was shared with the other Chisago Townships and was then presented to the Chisago County Planning Commission at the January 2nd Public Hearing and was subsequently dismissed by the members as unnecessary with little discussion and no formal vote.
Since that initial Public Hearing in January 2018 , there was a February “work-session” where the Planning Commission reviewed the Zoning Staff’s recommendations for a solar ordinance re-write and gave acknowledgement of public comment received. There has never been acknowledgement nor discussion regarding the issue of the current Solar Ordinance and proposed revision failing to be supported by the Comprehensive Plan, the overriding governing document that guides how ordinances are developed. For example, the desire to maintain open spaces and retain the historical rural character of Chisago County. In addition, there is virtually no direction in the Comprehensive Plan with regard to solar projects. Proceeding with a review and re-write of the Solar Ordinance without first addressing the urgent need for a revision of the Comprehensive Plan regarding solar leaves our county as a whole in a regulatory paradox. Our Comprehensive Plan contradicts itself at multiple turns and fails to provide substantial guidance for our choices regarding renewable energy generation, in any shape or form.
March 1st of 2018, our Public Hearing continued and a draft was presented by the Zoning Staff and discussed by the Planning Commission members. This draft was eventually sent back to the drawing board by a 4/3 vote by the members to strike the Administrative Permit portion altogether and require all Commercial Solar Power Generation Facilities to be processed under an Interim Use Permit (IUP) category. The next final draft of our Solar Ordinance would be considered by the Planning Commission on April 5, 2018. Chairperson, Frank Storm also ordered that the 1st draft of the Solar Ordinance Re-write be made available alongside the 2nd draft for “re-consideration”.
April 5th, 2018 -
At the Chisago County Planning Commission Meeting of 4/5, as the issue regarding the 2 different drafts was being deliberated, our District 2 Representative, Jim McCarthy, made a motion to take a vote on moving forward with the new draft placing all Commercial Solar Project under IUP as the Majority Report to the Board of Commissioners and also sending the last draft with Admin. Permits as a Minority Report.
This vote also passed 4/3.
This meant that the top recommendation going to the Board of Commissioners would be the Draft Revision #2. The Board of Commissioners would then determine what language they want in the Solar Ordinance in the future for Chisago County.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of 2018, 6 new applications had been submitted to the County for Solar Projects. Four of these sought Administrative Approval for projects under 20 acres in as-yet undisclosed areas of the County, as allowed under the then current ordinance, and 2 CUP project applications were reportedly received.
4/18/18 -
Update following 4/18/18 Board of Commissioners Decision:
County Board of Commissioners voted 4/1 to move forward with the Planning Commissions Minority Report,
draft revision # 1.
This draft allows for Administrative Permits for Solar Projects under 10 acres with a provision for notification to the surrounding neighbors and a developer conducted Community Meeting prior to the application being submitted to the County. Projects over 10 acres and producing less than 50 megawatts of power will require an Interim Use Permit which includes the provision of a Public Hearing. (Projects capable of producing over 50 megawatts will be referred to the MN Public Utilites Commission)
The language of the draft was changed slightly by the Board in the following two ways:
1 - The Community Meetings required of the Solar Developers will be held at the County Government Center.
2 - Notification parameters for Urban areas will stay at the 1/4 mi. distance, but Rural areas increased to 1/2 mi. from any proposed commercial solar project.
The remainder of the draft language will remain intact and does provide some requirement improvements, most notably with regards to buffer plantings on all four sides of projects.
*Also unknown at this time is the possible language inclusion presented by Planning Commissioner, Dave Whitney, at the last Planning Commission meeting that I believe was to be included language in the final draft presented to the Board of Commissioners.
74% opaqueness instead of specific tree requirements @ end of 3 years with performance funding guarantee
Setbacks from homes @ 275'
Setbacks from Right-of-Ways @ 75' from ALL roads (note: this is changed from 73' from centerline for Township roads and 135' from centerline of County Roads and State highways)
Link to the revised 2018 Chisago County Solar Ordinance:
http://chisagocounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/7211/Solar-Energy-Systems-Ordinance?bidId=
[1]MN Power System Conference Saint Paul, MN November 7, 2017 Community Energy Solar presentation given by Chase Whitney https://ccaps.umn.edu/documents/CPE-Conferences/MIPSYCON-PowerPoints/2017/Gen100MWNorthStarSolarProject.pdf
[2] http://education.seattlepi.com/environmental-health-concerns-solar-power-6281.html
[3] https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/solar.html
[4] http://www.solareis.anl.gov/guide/environment/index.cfm
[5] https://www.trentu.ca/news/view/cancer.html
Brought together by the proliferation of Solar Installations along a short stretch of Olinda Trail, the Township Communications Committee was formed by a group of neighbors seeking to keep interested residents in Chisago County apprised of new developments.
This group of concerned citizens in Franconia Township approached the Chisago Zoning Administrator searching for constructive guidance on how the process might be made more transparent to residents, providing notification to neighbors and allowing for collaboration in the approval process so that the incoming Solar Projects might be made less intrusive to our rural areas. We were seeking specific restrictions regarding setbacks, standards for perimeter fencing and improvements in buffer screening. We were wanting to take a long-range view of how solar might negatively impact our rural atmosphere and propose reasonable restrictions on density, as the County does through the regulation of building permits throughout the various County Zones. We expressed concerns for the loss of prime farmland, as clearly not only marginal lands are being utilized for Solar Projects as was the initial understanding given to county and state residents when the North Star PUC Project was installed in the North Branch area.[1] Finally, we expressed numerous concerns about the safety, health and welfare issues that solar power generation raises for our residents as well as our soil and water quality.[2][3][4][5]
In December of 2017, on the order of the Board of Commissioners, the Zoning Staff posted a Public Hearing Notice to the County of Chisago for review of the current Solar Ordinance. That same month, the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors heard the concerns of its citizens and voted unanimously to approve a resolution written by community members requesting an immediate moratorium or repeal of the current County Solar Ordinance in order to freeze in-coming applications while the Public Hearing process was underway. This endorsed request was shared with the other Chisago Townships and was then presented to the Chisago County Planning Commission at the January 2nd Public Hearing and was subsequently dismissed by the members as unnecessary with little discussion and no formal vote.
Since that initial Public Hearing in January 2018 , there was a February “work-session” where the Planning Commission reviewed the Zoning Staff’s recommendations for a solar ordinance re-write and gave acknowledgement of public comment received. There has never been acknowledgement nor discussion regarding the issue of the current Solar Ordinance and proposed revision failing to be supported by the Comprehensive Plan, the overriding governing document that guides how ordinances are developed. For example, the desire to maintain open spaces and retain the historical rural character of Chisago County. In addition, there is virtually no direction in the Comprehensive Plan with regard to solar projects. Proceeding with a review and re-write of the Solar Ordinance without first addressing the urgent need for a revision of the Comprehensive Plan regarding solar leaves our county as a whole in a regulatory paradox. Our Comprehensive Plan contradicts itself at multiple turns and fails to provide substantial guidance for our choices regarding renewable energy generation, in any shape or form.
March 1st of 2018, our Public Hearing continued and a draft was presented by the Zoning Staff and discussed by the Planning Commission members. This draft was eventually sent back to the drawing board by a 4/3 vote by the members to strike the Administrative Permit portion altogether and require all Commercial Solar Power Generation Facilities to be processed under an Interim Use Permit (IUP) category. The next final draft of our Solar Ordinance would be considered by the Planning Commission on April 5, 2018. Chairperson, Frank Storm also ordered that the 1st draft of the Solar Ordinance Re-write be made available alongside the 2nd draft for “re-consideration”.
April 5th, 2018 -
At the Chisago County Planning Commission Meeting of 4/5, as the issue regarding the 2 different drafts was being deliberated, our District 2 Representative, Jim McCarthy, made a motion to take a vote on moving forward with the new draft placing all Commercial Solar Project under IUP as the Majority Report to the Board of Commissioners and also sending the last draft with Admin. Permits as a Minority Report.
This vote also passed 4/3.
This meant that the top recommendation going to the Board of Commissioners would be the Draft Revision #2. The Board of Commissioners would then determine what language they want in the Solar Ordinance in the future for Chisago County.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of 2018, 6 new applications had been submitted to the County for Solar Projects. Four of these sought Administrative Approval for projects under 20 acres in as-yet undisclosed areas of the County, as allowed under the then current ordinance, and 2 CUP project applications were reportedly received.
4/18/18 -
Update following 4/18/18 Board of Commissioners Decision:
County Board of Commissioners voted 4/1 to move forward with the Planning Commissions Minority Report,
draft revision # 1.
This draft allows for Administrative Permits for Solar Projects under 10 acres with a provision for notification to the surrounding neighbors and a developer conducted Community Meeting prior to the application being submitted to the County. Projects over 10 acres and producing less than 50 megawatts of power will require an Interim Use Permit which includes the provision of a Public Hearing. (Projects capable of producing over 50 megawatts will be referred to the MN Public Utilites Commission)
The language of the draft was changed slightly by the Board in the following two ways:
1 - The Community Meetings required of the Solar Developers will be held at the County Government Center.
2 - Notification parameters for Urban areas will stay at the 1/4 mi. distance, but Rural areas increased to 1/2 mi. from any proposed commercial solar project.
The remainder of the draft language will remain intact and does provide some requirement improvements, most notably with regards to buffer plantings on all four sides of projects.
*Also unknown at this time is the possible language inclusion presented by Planning Commissioner, Dave Whitney, at the last Planning Commission meeting that I believe was to be included language in the final draft presented to the Board of Commissioners.
74% opaqueness instead of specific tree requirements @ end of 3 years with performance funding guarantee
Setbacks from homes @ 275'
Setbacks from Right-of-Ways @ 75' from ALL roads (note: this is changed from 73' from centerline for Township roads and 135' from centerline of County Roads and State highways)
Link to the revised 2018 Chisago County Solar Ordinance:
http://chisagocounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/7211/Solar-Energy-Systems-Ordinance?bidId=
[1]MN Power System Conference Saint Paul, MN November 7, 2017 Community Energy Solar presentation given by Chase Whitney https://ccaps.umn.edu/documents/CPE-Conferences/MIPSYCON-PowerPoints/2017/Gen100MWNorthStarSolarProject.pdf
[2] http://education.seattlepi.com/environmental-health-concerns-solar-power-6281.html
[3] https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/solar.html
[4] http://www.solareis.anl.gov/guide/environment/index.cfm
[5] https://www.trentu.ca/news/view/cancer.html