Carteret County - Wind Energy System Ordinance (North Carolina)

Last modified on February 12, 2015.

Rules Regulations Policies Program

Place	North Carolina
Name	Carteret County - Wind Energy System Ordinance
Incentive Type	Solar/Wind Permitting Standards
Applicable Sector	Agricultural, Commercial, General Public/Consumer, Industrial, Institutional, Local Government, Multi-Family Residential, Residential, Schools, State Government
Eligible Technologies	Wind
Active Incentive	Yes
Implementing Sector	State/Territory
Energy Category	Renewable Energy Incentive Programs
Date added to DSIRE	2010-01-11
Last DSIRE Review	2013-01-08
Last Substantive Modification to Summary by DSIRE	2012-01-26
References	DSIRE

Summary

Carteret County passed an ordinance to specify the permitting process and establish siting requirements for wind energy systems. There are different rules and a different permitting process depending on the size and location of a system. Small systems up to 25 kilowatts (kW) are considered to be an accessory use and do not require the approval of a Wind Energy Permit Application. Small systems attached to a house can have a maximum height of 60 feet and are not subject to minimum setbacks. Small systems not attached to a house can have a maximum height of 75 feet, but must be set back 1 foot for each foot of height from any property line and any vacant or occupied dwelling unit on the same property.

Larger systems over 25 kW must have a Wind Energy Permit Application approved by the Planning Commission before a building permit can be submitted. The ordinance goes into detail about the information required for the Wind Energy Permit Application. Systems over 25 kW and less than 1,000 kW can have a maximum height of 199 feet, and must be setback at least 1,300 feet from any adjacent property line. Systems 1,000 kW or more can have a height of 550 feet and must be setback 6 feet for each foot of height from any adjacent property line.

See ordinance for more details.

Incentive Contact

Contact Name	Jim Jennings
Department	Carteret County
Division	Planning and Development
Address	402 Broad Street
Place	Beaufort, North Carolina
Zip/Postal Code	28516
Phone	(252) 728-8427
Email	jimj@carteretcountygov.org
Website	http://www.carteretcountygov.org/Planning-and-Inspections.aspx

Authorities (Please contact the if there are any file problems.)

Authority 1:	Carteret County Code of Ordinances

• Incentive and policy data are reviewed and approved by the N.C. Solar Center's DSIRE project staff.