Dover City Council has rejected a request from a solar power generation company to amend the city's strategic plan to allow the annexation of nearly 250 acres to bypass county restrictions on utility-scale solar farms.
Last October, the Kent County Levy Court adopted rules prohibiting the use of any land within the county’s agricultural conservation and agricultural residential zones for utility-scale solar farms.
The county's rules allow for a limited number of "community-scale" solar farms on agricultural land, but those can be no larger than 40 acres; the Levy Court also set a 1,000-acre cap on the combined area of all community-scale solar farms in the county.
That effectively restricts large solar farms to commercial areas – restrictions renewable energy advocates say effectively prevent the addition of large-scale solar power generation in the county.
The Pennsylvania-based company Calpine owns 248 acres of forest and farmland just east of Dover, adjacent to the Garrison Oak Technology Park that houses Dover's own decade-old 100-acre solar farm. Calpine's currently leases the cleared portion of its property to a tenant farmer, and the company says it hasn't received any offers to purchase the land in the past decade.
Calpine hopes to use the cleared sections of that land – about 148 acres – for a larger solar farm, so it approached Dover City Council to request annexation into the city.
“We’re right next to the city, we’re right next to power generation, so we thought it would be logical," said Attorney Mark Dunkle, who represented Calpine before the council. "Also, the County doesn’t have in their comprehensive plan the goals you have about sustainability and green energy infrastructure.”
The proposal received backing from the Delaware Department of Land Use and Planning — a rare departure from the Department's general preference to leave land east of Dover for agricultural uses — and from the Kent County Conservancy.
"It's hard to imagine a more appropriate location," said Kent County Conservancy Charles Salkin. "In this case, the agricultural land that may be taken is inferior and poorly drained, and Calpine has been a good steward of the woods and wetlands on its property."
But agricultural property owners from areas east of Dover appeared in force to oppose the annexation, arguing that agricultural land should be preserved for agricultural uses and that the county's restrictions should be respected.
“It seems like they found a loophole by using the City of Dover to get around Kent County," said landowner Paul Cartanza Jr., who backed the Levy Court's restrictions on utilities-scale solar farms in agricultural zones. "I thought it was Kent County’s job to put the standard out there.”
Other opponents argued that it would be unfair to allow Calpine to dodge county land use restrictions when other agricultural land owners whose properties aren't adjacent to the city have no such option.
"Calpine knew what they were buying," said Tricia Nash, who grew up in a farming family near Smyrna. "People like my family had property rights taken away from them, and we stopped fighting it for the good of Kent County — so that we could maintain farmland."
Opponents had already convinced Dover's planning commission to oppose the change to the city's comprehensive plan that would enable the annexation of Calpine's property.
"I didn't like the optics of the way Calpine seemed to be skirting Kent County rules," said commission member Chris Cooper. "I think we should look at solar over parking lots instead. Farm fields need to remain farm fields."
City councilmembers offered very few comments on the project, though some shared the apprehensions about sidestepping the Levy Court's land use rules. Councilman David Anderson also noted that adjustments to the city's comprehensive plan are meant to be made sparingly.
"I am a little wary of changing the comprehensive plan, which we can only do once a year," he said. "Do we want this to be our one shot?"
Councilman Fred Neil offered the only full-throated support for the proposal. "Let's not be short-sighted," he said. "We're looking at a climate crisis in the near future, and something's going to have to give."
The council ultimately voted against the proposal, with Anderson joining Neil as the only backers of Calpine's request.
