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Latest Stories

Events & Activities – November 2023

Jefferson County Commission Misses Grant Deadlines

Commissioners Attempt To Repeal Part Of County Zoning Ordinance

Jefferson County Lights Up For Halloween

Red Summer 1919 – An Instrumental Opera

Cryptid Cave Escape Room

A Crash Course In Bird Feathers

Salute To Veterans

Two Commissioners Refuse To Meet

Local Woman Plays For USA Team In Amputee Soccer Tournament

Shepherdstown Day Care Center Celebrates 50 Years

Imaginary Horribles – An Artist’s Perspective

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In Print

solar

Changes Underway in Jefferson County

May, 2023 Tagged With: editor's note, housing trends, In Print June 2023, solar, solar permitting

A lot of the articles in the June 2023 issue touch on change (we didn’t plan it that way, it just happened — a sign of the times). Read the Full Story >>

Another Solar Project Comes to Jefferson County

May, 2023 Tagged With: Charles Town, Flowing Springs Farm, In Print May 2023, solar

The concept plan for the Flowing Springs Farm project proposes a solar panel installation on 660 acres adjacent to the Aspen Greens and Beallair subdivisions northeast of Charles Town. Read the Full Story >>

Questions for Solar Projects

August, 2022 Tagged With: In Print Aug 2022, solar, solar permitting, zoning

Road sign for Kabletown in front of a scenic county road.

The County Commission discussed permit fees for solar projects at its July 21 meeting. The commissioners discussed a range of fees, with Commissioner Jane Tabb proposing $700,000 to ensure the County covers its review and inspection costs while Commissioner Steve Stolipher suggested a cap of $75,000. Projects of similar size in nearby jurisdictions pay permit fees ranging from $700,000 to $1,400,000. The Commission decided to defer a decision and requested staff to provide further research and recommendations to be presented at a future meeting (Aug 4 or Aug 18). Read the Full Story >>

Public Hearing on Solar Zoning — June 9

June, 2022 Tagged With: economic development, In Print June 2022, solar, zoning

The Jefferson County Commission has scheduled a public hearing and possible vote on June 9 at 9:30 am for a proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance that would allow processing of applications for [“industrial scale”] solar energy facilities as a principal permitted use [“by-right”] in all areas of Jefferson County inside the Urban Growth Boundary and Preferred Growth Area noted in the current Comprehensive Plan.  Read the Full Story >>

Solar in Jefferson County

April, 2022 Tagged With: renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES, solar, zoning

lines of solar panels that extend far into the distance which are part of a commercial solar array.

Jefferson County could be home to several large scale solar power projects - if the County can amend its zoning to permit these facilities. There has been much discussion, several amendments, and several lawsuits since this process began in 2020.  Read the Full Story >>

Court Ruling Undoes Zoning Amendment For Industrial Solar

August, 2021 Tagged With: Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Jefferson County Commission, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

electrical power lines stretch in to the distance while a "dead end" sign is visible in the foreground.

On August 16, Judge Debra McLaughlin, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, issued a ruling that invalidated the text amendment ZTA1903 to the Jefferson County zoning ordinance. The now-invalidated amendment was written to allow development of utility-scale solar power facilities as a principal permitted use in rural, residential growth and other open lands in the county.  Read the Full Story >>

Tracking Solar Installations

August, 2021 Tagged With: economic development, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

A map of the 138 kV electrical grid in Jefferson County and proposed utility-scale solar projects.

During the discussions of the now-invalidated zoning amendment, several citizens expressed concern that the broad expansion of the amendment to include by-right development of industrial solar in rural and residential growth zones would open up most of the county as potential sites for these facilities. Read the Full Story >>

A Long View Of The Landscape

March, 2021 Tagged With: American Conservation Film Festival, economic development, editor's note, solar, Storer College

Red barns (such as the one in Meyerstown, above) are an iconic symbol of the rural landscape across the country — testaments to the effort of the individuals who built them, who used them, who maintained them. Preserved seems an odd word to apply to these structures, intended originally to be working components of agricultural operations.  Read the Full Story >>

Connecting Solar In Jefferson County

February, 2021 Tagged With: agriculture, conservation easement, farming, renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

Millville substation

The Observer spoke with several energy industry professionals with experience in the development and management of utility-scale energy projects to understand the general context for the types of large-scale solar projects being proposed for Jefferson County. We also researched the specific topography of the local power grid and land to understand both the potential and constraints for these types of solar projects in Jefferson County. Read the Full Story >>

A Look At Rural Zoning In Jefferson County

February, 2021 Tagged With: economic development, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

While it’s common to think of land designated with rural zoning as reserved for agriculture, it’s really a category with many allowed uses, not all directly related to agriculture. Read the Full Story >>

Sparking A Converstation: Local Farmers Discuss Large-Scale Solar Development

September, 2020 Tagged With: agriculture, conservation easement, farming, renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

A wooden sign for a dairy farm with power transmission Lines visible in the field in the background.

Pastoral landscapes may be easy on the eyes, but farming them is a hard life. Todd Hough of Oakwood Farm has been working the land since he was a child. He and his brother are the fourth generation to run the family farm in the Kabletown District of Jefferson County.  Read the Full Story >>

Perspectives from a Local Solar Professional

July, 2020 Tagged With: renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

high stalks of corn with solar panels barely visible over the top of the cornstalks.

For the first article in this series, we invited Danny Chiotos to research and address some questions about the nature of the specific solar generation project that initiated the request for proposed zoning amendment ZTA 19-03. Read the Full Story >>

A Timeline Of Zoning For Solar

July, 2020 Tagged With: renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES, solar, zoning

lines of solar panels that extend far into the distance which are part of a commercial solar array.

Jefferson County began to amend its zoning ordinance to allow for utility-scale solar in 2020. The process has had several setbacks, but a vote by the County Commission on April 5, 2022 has restarted the amendment process. Read the Full Story >>

Bavarian Inn Goes Green, and Beyond

January, 2017 Tagged With: Bavarian Inn, renewable energy, solar

Late last year, The Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown (WV) joined Jefferson County’s solar community by debuting a rooftop array of solar panels on one of their alpine-style hotel buildings. The energy system was designed and installed by Mountain View Solar (MTV) of Berkeley Springs (WV), and consists of 105 SolarWorld 300W modules. The 31.5kW system Read the Full Story >>

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