Carroll County ordinance on solar panel farms in flux

SYKESVILLE, Md. — In the push for clean energy, solar may seem to be an obvious choice, but not when it means erecting a field of panels along Fannie Dorsey Road in Sykesville.

"There's been some debate about what chemicals they have in them and if it could leach into the ground water here, because we all have wells," said Dennis Miner who lives across the road, "and then the unsightliness of it. It's going to have over 6,000 panels."

"Who knows? It's all new," added Ray Richardson whose house also fronts the road, "We’ve got to look into this before we jump. That's all. Just look before you leap."

Under the county's original code on these solar projects, it would have allowed them on agriculturally-zoned land as long as it did not exceed 20 acres.

When residents started raising questions about potential health risks, commissioners put the brakes on their own code leaving prospective solar energy landowners in the lurch without approving a single project.

"It's a million dollar operation. He's really upset over it," said Richardson, "Oh, my goodness, he got turned down? Oh, my goodness. He's threatened to do some bad things over here."

While the science may not be clear on the panels, the board of commissioners has pledged to take a closer look at limiting such projects to commercial or industrial sites where communities would not be put at risk.

"It's not going to shut the door, and they don't want to shut the door on community solar," said Board President Commissioner Ed Rothstein, "Carroll County is not shutting the door on community solar."

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