BROOKS COUNTY, Ga. (WCTV) – Brooks County commissioners adopted a new ordinance on Monday, adding restrictions to solar farms.
The revised ordinance follows residents’ calls for local leaders to implement changes that would require noise mitigation and visual buffers.
The changes were previously approved by the planning and zoning committee.
Lee Lark, a Brooks County Commissioner, said the new ordinance is more comprehensive and takes into account resident concerns.
“Our solar ordinance that we had in place prior to this was not very inclusive. It wasn’t very restrictive as far as where it can and cannot be placed, and we had had issues with other citizens. We’ve had citizens having issues with where the solar field is placed,” the commissioner said.
The ordinance outlines specific requirements for building different types of solar energy systems in the county, including which zoning districts future systems can be built, street-facing builds and limits for tree removal.
Visual buffers, which will be created using planted vegetation, must be created if the solar energy system is visible from neighboring properties or the public right of way. These must provide enough of a visual and lighting barrier between the system and nearby properties within a year after construction on the solar system is complete.
Large-scale solar energy systems will also face noise restrictions. They must not produce a net increase of noise consistently compared to the ambient noise measured before the system was built.
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A Brooks County resident, Peg Howard, who is on the Solar Ordinance Committee that proposed these changes, previously told WCTV the noise is something she wishes she never had to live through.
She said the transformers that collect energy from the solar panels produce a whining, electrical-type noise, and, with the solar panels’ rural placement, it carries.
The changes to the ordinance would help mitigate this high-pitched tone at solar sites.
Other changes include the addition of signage that provides emergency contact numbers, soil tests at the site twice a year and scale restrictions.
The new ordinance takes effect immediately.
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