Revisions to Concord’s solar ordinances are expected to go before the public early next year.
City officials have been trading ideas on what the city’s ordinances should look like since the energy and environment committee produced a rough draft in August.
The initiative grew out of Concord’s adoption of a 100 percent renewable energy goal by 2050; part of the goal includes having all of the city’s energy being created by renewable resources by 2030 and having all transportation and thermal energy renewably sourced by 2050.
Assistant city planner Beth Fenstermacher said she anticipates a final product could come before the city council as early as January or February.
“This document changes every 3 to 4 days,” she said last Wednesday at a workshop with the city’s Planning Board, referring to the proposed changes. “A lot of intricate parts play into it.”
Current zoning allows for rooftop solar on all properties, and accessory use in several zones, but the governing ordinances don’t make that clear, Fenstermacher said.
The pending changes would look to clarify where zoning is allowed and streamline the permitting process, as well as outline what community solar installations – for example, an array that would be used by multiple homes in a neighborhood – would look like.
“If we want to meet that 100 percent energy goal, we can’t rely on everyone self-producing,” she said at the meeting, noting many lots are unsuitable for solar.
She pointed to the town of Hollis as an example; a group of 21 residents have a legal contract that allows them to share the energy generated by a 164 kW array. Members receive a quarterly check for any additional energy generated they are able to sell.
So far, Fenstermacher said the city and the committee have been able to agree on changes like updating the zoning for manufactured housing and clustered housing, and that community solar guidelines need to be updated.
They also agree the zoning should not limit projects by how much energy they create, but the physical limitations of a lot and the size of the project; this way, zoning isn’t hampered if technology evolves and allows for smaller, stronger units.
But they’ve still got work to do on screening and buffers for solar arrays, for which there is no regulation. Fenstermacher said that issue will probably be determined on a case-by-case basis.