MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach City Council approved a change during Tuesday’s meeting to allow solar farms in all zoning districts that are not residential.
The ordinance would also require solar farms to have certain setbacks and barriers.
The change came after Santee Cooper proposed rezoning the 17 acres of land near Myrtle Beach International Airport off of South Kings Highway, in order to build a solar farm. The city of Myrtle Beach did not have a definition for a solar farm at the time.
Tuesday’s City Council vote added a definition for solar farms to the city’s ordinance, which would allow Santee Cooper to build a solar farm near Myrtle Beach International Airport.
Carol Coleman, Director of Myrtle Beach’s Planning Department says the solar farm is a good use of the land.
“We thought that this was the best way to handle it. Going forward, we may see more (solar farms). The price, or cost of property may be prohibitive, but this land that the current development is looking at, is a closed out landfill, so there’s not much that could be done with it, and they’re even having to engineer it for the solar panels,” Coleman said.
The developer will have to get final approval of the project from the Community Appearance Board before moving forward with the solar farm.
