TIFTON — After a month of deliberation on a solar farm proposal, Tift County Commission approved the project for development.

The board voted 6-1 in favor of the application made by Mark Fletcher at the March 13 meeting, giving him the go-ahead to construct a solar farm on Highway 125.

The solar farm project was initially meant to be voted upon at the Feb. 13 meeting but commissioners tabled the item for 30 days to give agent Nick Stein time to reconfigure the site plan in line with residents’ concerns.

Stein said he adjusted the project to satisfy the nearby homeowners as best he could, moving the farm away from the road to obscure it, maintaining the noise level at a minimum and implementing a decommissioning bond to ensure he would properly clean up the property when it is time to close down.

Stein said he is confident the solar farm will be a “good neighbor” and asserted it would not have a large or disturbing presence.

At a recent meeting, residents voiced their concerns about the solar farm.

Dustin Griffin said he believes solar farms are not a good fit for Tifton and recounted two previous solar farm applications that, like this application, had been recommended for approval by the planning and zoning commission but were ultimately rejected by the county.

Griffin surmised these rejections were made due to concerns over the impact they would have on the surrounding area, and questioned how this project would be any different.

Tommy Hasty expressed concern that electricity rates would increase for other residents in the area, as well as the potential chance that more solar farms would begin to move into the open fields in the same area.

Commissioner Stan Stalnaker said he was impressed by the lengths Stein and Fletcher had gone to assuage the concerns of residents in modifying the project.

Stalnaker said at the end of the day it is vital to consider the rights of the property owner as well, leading him to make the motion to approve the application and ultimately resulting in its 6-1 decision.

Commissioner Buck Rigdon was the sole vote against approval.