Renewable Energy Review Committees

Overview

The Renewable Energy Review Committees are special purpose advisory committees formed for the specific goal of exploring parts of our Renewable Energy Overlay zoning district requirements for utility-scale renewable energy projects. Each committee will meet several times over the first half of 2023. After fully exploring each area of code, the committees may make recommendations on code changes to the Planning & Zoning Commission. The Planning & Zoning Commission will then provide further analysis and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors based on the work of the committees. There are four committees with four different focus areas, which are: Good Neighbor Practices (setbacks and screening), Battery Energy Storage Systems (placement and safety considerations), Balancing Agriculture and Solar (vegetation requirements, agrivoltaic considerations), and Lifecycle Costs (decommissioning plan requirements and considerations, operation and maintenance plan requirements and considerations).

Committee Members

Committee members were selected based on the applications they submitted and their backgrounds and areas of expertise. 

Committee Updates

Linn County’s Planning & Development Director will provide regular updates on each committee’s progress during his monthly department update to the Board of Supervisors. The committee updates will be posted on this webpage.