The Essex County Planning Commission voted on June 3 to again recommend denial of conditional use permit requests for three proposed solar facilities, after the applicant amended its proposal.
New Energy Equity, of Annapolis, Maryland, submitted three conditional use requests for the proposal which would feature contiguous, adjacent lands encompassing 209 acres and involving six parcels. The property, located in Ozeana, is owned by the estate of William Emmett Stevens.
One of the proposed projects involves a 5-megawatt facility, while the other two are of 3.5 megawatt capacity.
The properties proposed to be used for the project are zoned A-2 (Agricultural) and presently in farmland. The locations are adjacent to an existing solar facility.
The 174-acre Essex Solar Center was completed in late December of 2017 and shortly thereafter came under fire from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for stormwater and erosion control issues that occurred following heavy rainfalls.
Ultimately, DEQ fined the Essex Solar Center and its owner Coronal Energy, a national solar firm based in Pasadena, California, $245,000 for violating stormwater and erosion control laws as part of a consent decree.
The Planning Commission previously recommended denial of the requests to the Essex
Board of Supervisors who voted to return the matter to the commission during its May 13 meeting.
A conditional use permit is a zoning exception that allows an applicant to use property in non-conforming ways.
Griff Jones represented New Energy Equity and explained a few of the proposed conditions to its request:
•The site and solar facility construction shall be in substantial conformance with the site plan provided as part of the Conditional Use Permit application.
•All earth disturbance activities shall be in full compliance with the latest Virginia Department of Environmental Quality guidelines for solar energy facilities.
•Erosion and sediment control plans shall be reviewed and approved by Essex County prior to commencing work.
•Minimizing site grading and following the revised grading plan.
•Racking installation using tracked pile drivers and minimizing earth disturbance and grading.
•Cabling installation – using a combination of above ground and underground cabling based upon electrical engineer recommendation and minimization of earth disturbance.
•Height of the array shall be kept to the minimum feasible, generally below 9’ at maximum tilt.
•If possible/available, local sheep shall be used to maintain the grass areas of the site thereby keeping the property in agricultural production.
•Buffers and screening in accordance with the revised Landscaping Plan.
•No signage of any type may be placed on the facility other than notices, warnings, and identification information required by law.
•The construction hours are restricted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday or as agreed with Essex County. This includes decommissioning activities.
•During operation, the facility shall not produce a noise level that exceeds 65 dBA as measured at the property line or 50 dBA as measured at the nearest neighboring inhabitable building.
•The owner and operator shall give the County written notice of any change in ownership, operator, or Power Purchase Agreement within 30 days.
•Provide materials, education, and/or training, in coordination with the County’s Emergency Services staff, to the departments serving the solar energy facility in regard to safely responding to on-site emergencies.
•Decommissioning shall occur in accordance with the Decommissioning Plan provided and the required bond lodged with Essex County. Decommissioning shall be completed within 12 months.
In addition, the company was prepared to pay the county $50,000 per permit up front, with an additional $25,000 per site to follow within six months, Griff Jones said.
While the meeting was not a public hearing, Planning Commission Chairman David Jones encouraged those members of the public who were in attendance to air their thoughts on the proposal. The comments were overwhelmingly negative, with area residents expressing concern about everything from runoff and polluting the river to the esthetics of solar panels and fences.
“You’re ghetto-izing our part of the county,” Zorrine Shirley said. “You’re talking about razing the land, destroying the beauty. This project is not going to help the poor or anyone who needs electricity.”
Concerns were also expressed about turning agricultural land into what some viewed as an industrial site.
“There are places for solar, but they shouldn’t be overtaking farmland or forestry areas,” Hill Wellford said.
Several speakers cautioned that with greater electricity production would come applications to build data centers in the county, a charge that Griff Jones was quick to counter.
“We do community solar,” Jones said. “We build small solar farms to supply community needs. We don’t cater to data centers.”
After hearing arguments for and against the proposal, the planners voted not to recommend approval.
“I don’t see where the project has changed much since the last time we saw it, other than you’re offering some money,” David Jones said. “I would hate to see any planning commission or board of supervisors change their voted because someone offered money.”
The request now goes back to the Board of Supervisors to consider at an upcoming meeting.
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