Senate Amendment 33
H 3309 - Session 126 (2025-2026)
Electrical Utilities

Senators CAMPSEN and CHAPLIN proposes the following amendment (SJ-3309.MB0011S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding appropriately numbered SECTIONS to read:

SECTION X.A. Chapter 29, Title 6 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 Section 6-29-1220. (A) For any county that has not adopted rural zoning or has not adopted ordinances establishing design and development standards for solar energy systems, and until such time as rural zoning or an ordinance for solar energy systems has been adopted, then the development and operation of solar energy systems that require a footprint of more than thirteen acres of land shall comply with the following design and development standards:
  (1) Site plans shall be prepared by a licensed land surveyor, landscape architect, or engineer in the State of South Carolina. Plans must be sealed.
  (2) Solar energy systems shall be set back fifty feet from adjoining property lines and road right of ways and two hundred feet from the nearest residence, church, or school. Setback distances are to the fence and are inclusive of the vegetation buffer.
  (3) Solar structures shall not exceed fifteen feet in height. This provision shall not include the interconnection poles, substation equipment, or other devices necessary for the electricity to be delivered to the public utility station.
  (4) Solar energy facilities shall be screened from adjacent public road rights-of-way, residences, churches, or schools with a vegetative buffer and fence or wall with the following specifications:
   (a) a vegetative buffer shall be installed adjacent to the solar energy system farm;
   (b) the vegetation shall be planted in two staggered rows at a spacing interval between eight feet and ten feet on center and reach at least six feet in height over a three-year growing season and not less than fifteen feet in height at maturity or two feet higher than the highest panel, whichever is greater; and
   (c) the vegetation shall include low lying vegetation to fill gaps between taller vegetation.
  (5) All lighting shall be shielded or directed in a downward position to prevent noxious glare. A light fixture is required at the ends of all turnarounds.
  (6) Fencing shall be at least six feet in height to secure the perimeter. The fence shall be secure at all times.
  (7) A warning sign concerning voltage must be placed at the main gate to include the address and name of the solar energy system operator and a twenty-four-hour phone number for the solar energy system in case of an emergency.
  (8) Solar collectors shall be designed with anti-reflective coating to minimize glare. Textured glass is optional. Mirrors are prohibited.
  (9) Submit and maintain an updated facility decommission plan consistent with the then current decommissioning requirements as required by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.
 (B) Upon receipt of a completed solar energy system plan by a county subject to the provisions in (A), the county shall set a date for a public hearing and send, by first class mail, a notice of the application to all property owners within two thousand six hundred and forty feet of the proposed solar energy system. The notification shall include projected date of the public hearing to be held by the county. Public notification includes posting in the local newspaper and mail notice to residents postmarked at least thirty days prior to the public hearing.
 (C) The Department of Environmental Services is charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this section. Upon the failure of the owner or operator that is given notice of violation of this section to remedy the violation within thirty days, the Department of Environmental Services may impose civil penalties and require remediation for violations of the provisions of this section. Penalties may be not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars for each day of noncompliance. Penalties may be waived by the Department for good cause for noncompliance shown by the owner or operator.

B. This SECTION takes effect for projects approved by a county on or after January 1, 2026.

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.