County looking at permit costs for solar farms
A new round of acreage to be covered with solar panels to increase wattage being generated in Polk County is in the early planning stages as a new fee structure for building permits is likely to be approved.
County Building Inspector Brian McCray asked the Public Works committee to present to the full board during their June 7 session following press time a new fee schedule specifically for solar projects.
At the moment no specific designation of how much to charge for solar farms has been set for proposed panels
to be planted at a seven acre site across Highway 101 from the Inman Solar installation in Aragon.
If the project moved forward without a decision by the board to make any amendments to the fee schedule, new panels could be installed for only the bargain basement price of $98.50, plus the cost of having plans looked over by the county engineer and going through the planning and zoning process.
By comparison, McCray said neighboring Paulding County charges $150 for a project at minimum, and $4.50 for every $1,000 per estimated building cost after $40,000 added on.
McCray and Denton hammered out a fee schedule of the same scale, with a $500 maximum or $100,000 whichever comes first in a proposed installation cost.
If it stays the same, McCray said the $98.50 permit wouldn’t cover the several trips back and forth to Aragon for inspections while work is underway, much less the postage to send reports and permit documents.
Commissioners were set to get to vote on the proposed change during the June 7 session of the county board after the Standard Journal’s press time.
McCray said the only other infrastructure project like in which building permits cost much more than usual residential or commercial structures are cell phone towers, which typically run around $3,000 for the permit alone, not including construction and installation costs, or the paperwork required from various state agencies like the Environmental Protection Division.
The proposed amendment to the fee structure for solar farms would have no impact on residential installation of the panels, which would be considered a standard electrical permit and inspection following.