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JACKSON – Northampton County’s Planning & Zoning Department has done a lot of work lately regarding solar facilities, according to an update to the Board of Commissioners during their meeting on Jan. 6.

“Our department has been focused heavily on solar farms,” explained Director Derrick Bennett. “Key initiatives include educating citizens as well as public officials on solar facilities, revising the solar farm ordinance in conjunction with key stakeholders, as well as inspecting existing solar fields.”

Bennett reported that they had scheduled an upcoming informational meeting for public officials with the Center for Energy Education (C4EE) in February so that the board can learn more about solar facilities. C4EE is a nonprofit organization focused on renewable energy research based in Roanoke Rapids.

“We talked [previously] about having an information workshop for our citizens so they can ask questions,” said Commissioner Melvetta Broadnax Taylor, who then asked when that particular meeting would be held.

Bennett said they hadn’t set a date yet, but it was in the works. The plan is to hold a meeting for officials first, he explained, so that they could answer any questions posed to them by their constituents. After that, they’ll hold an informational meeting for county citizens.

“We’re bringing a lot of people to the table,” he said, adding that those individuals included experts from NC State University, officials from NC Department of Environmental Quality, and more.

So it takes time to schedule these meetings, Bennett emphasized.

“I think our citizens have been very patient with us,” Broadnax Taylor stated. “They’re waiting for us to make some moves as well.”

“We get a lot of questions and concerns about the solar farms and solar panels,” added Commissioner Keedra Whitaker.

Whitaker also emphasized the need to hold an informational meeting for citizens as soon as possible. She said it was critical that citizens understand the impacts of solar energy, especially because there are a lot of misconceptions out there.

Board Chair Ed Martin asked if they could get a list of each solar farm in the county and when they were first approved.

Bennett said the department is working hard on that already, but the process is slow-going. Some of the records from older solar facilities are incomplete, and employees are inspecting each individual farm to fill in those information gaps while also juggling their other job duties.

“It’s manually intensive,” he emphasized, and thanked the members of the department for their hard work.

Currently, Northampton County has a moratorium in place for new solar facility construction, which was approved in June 2024. That halt on construction will continue through June 30, 2025. It does not, however, have any effect on already existing solar facilities.

During the moratorium, the Planning Board can conduct a study of solar farm facility issues, and then recommend to the commissioners what ordinance changes, if any, should be made.

Northampton County previously enacted a moratorium on solar farm permits from July 2021 through April 2022.