Mecklenburg County solar projects are failing to meet their pre-construction pledges, according to the planning commission. Deficiencies include solar panels tilted in the wrong direction, inadequate vegetation buffers to shield the projects from view, and projects that do not generate the promised amount of electricity.
During their meeting, commissioners raised concerns about the developers’ failure to address these lingering issues, and one commissioner raised the possibility of asking Dominion to decommission a project if deficiencies are not addressed.
This follows the planning commission’s rejection of a large utility-scale solar project near Boydton.
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Mecklenburg planners mull solar reforms after calling out deficiencies, by Susan Kate, Mecklenburg Sun
Deficiencies with local solar projects dominated the discussion at last week’s meeting of the Mecklenburg County Planning Commission, leading members to call for a review of the county’s solar permitting policies.
Although the commission took no action at the Jan. 23 meeting, planning board members questioned whether solar developers have lived up to their commitments with the operation of Mecklenburg’s two completed solar generation facilities, the Grasshopper and Bluestone solar projects near Chase City.
Mecklenburg County Zoning Administrator Robert Hendrick noted the role that solar facilities are said to have played in preventing rolling blackouts around the country during December’s severe winter weather. Also adding that he continues to receive inquiries from companies looking to develop new projects in the area.
In Mecklenburg, he added, there is reason to believe that existing solar facilities are not generating electricity at levels touted by their developers. That, plus an evident lack of adequate vegetative buffer to shield the Grasshopper project from public view as promised, prompted some commission members to ask if anything could be done to rectify the situation.
Hendricks shared photos of solar panels at the Bluestone facility on Spanish Grove Road. Photos taken around 10:20 a.m. should show all panels facing in a single direction tilted toward the sun, according to Hendrick. Instead, some panels are positioned horizontally, while others slant away from the sun. Even the panels aimed toward the sun are not all angled to the same degree, he said.
The panels are on a single axle tracking system that follows the trajectory of the sun as it moves from east to west during the day, maximizing the generation of electricity. It is obvious from the photos that is not happening, Hendrick explained.
“I am told it is a glitch in the software,” he said.
That comment drew a retort from planning commission member David Brankley, the Board of Supervisors’ representative on the panel. “That [lack of tracking] has been an issue for about a year,” he said.
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