The Chautauqua County Planning and Development department has developed a solar decommissioning template for municipalities.
The template gives recommendations for developing and, or, updating local municipal laws specific to decommissioning utility-scale solar facilities.
The County’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board requested the template be created in order to better protect priority farmland and support agriculture in the county. Some of the concerns the board had in relation to large solar projects included that soils be restored to their original productivity after the lifespan of these projects, and that developers and operators be held responsible for the financial and physical removal of projects.
The Planning Department said the template provides municipal leaders with recommendations based on research, best practices, and guidance documents. The department also developed an online municipal resource mapper. Data layers include municipal boundaries, soil types, transmission lines, wetlands, and more.
The solar decommissioning template and online municipal resource mapper is available on the CCDPD website at https://planningchautauqua.com/resources/municipal-resources/
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