The risk to endangered and threatened species of animals, birds, fish, and plants from large-scale solar projects is very real.
Consider: to construct a 1,000-acre solar project, for example, the vast majority of land in that project must first have every tree and bush removed, then be bulldozed to re-grade and level out the terrain, destroying the habitats of not just animals but smaller birds, insects, and wildlife that lived on that property.
This re-grading destroys the small streams and creeks that crisscrossed the land, raising the likelihood of flooding and erosion affecting neighboring properties and river basins, as has happened in every large-scale solar project in Virginia to date.
It’s worth considering the environmental impact and potential damage for any large, utility-scale solar project being proposed for Virginia’s counties before approving them.
- Find endangered species in your county
- Virginia’s endangered & threatened species
- Bald eagles and bald eagle nests
The CEO of the James River Association warned in November that shad — “America’s founding fish” — is on the brink of collapse on the James River.
Reasons for the stark decline include not just overfishing and dams blocking the fish from their spawning grounds but also poor water quality and high sediment loads from stormwater runoff. High sedimentation blocks sunlight from reaching aquatic grasses that serve as habitat for fish and other aquatic wildlife, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. For shad, especially, these grasses help shelter young shad from predators.
A number of large solar projects are projected for the James River basin, including a 2,000-acre project that lies 1/2 mile from the James itself and
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Utility-scale solar projects are pitched as being environmentally friendly because they are built on the ground itself, with little impermeable surfaces. (For example, see this article in the Farmville Herald about the 2,000-acre Riverstone Solar project, located 1/2 mile from the James River, in which the Apex Clean Energy public engagement manager asserts that “only 1% of the site will be converted to an impermeable surface.”)
Strictly speaking, this is true but only because it is using the most limited definition of “impermeable surface” relates to ground surfaces only. The definition of “impermeable” at LawInsider, for instance, is a “surface or pavement constructed and maintained to a standard sufficient to prevent the transmission of liquids beyond the pavement surface.”
However, a University of Delaware factsheet on permeable vs. impermeable surfaces defines “impermeable” as including all “solid surfaces that don’t allow water to penetrate, forcing it to run off.”
Because solar panels are solid surfaces, they are impermeable, even though they are elevated above the soil. Any large-scale solar project, then, poses several risks to the environment, as detailed by the U/Del factsheet:
- The pollution of surface water, because the runoff can pick up pollutants as it flows into creeks and streams.
- Flooding of surface water and erosion of stream banks, especially during periods of heavy rainfall which can cause flash flooding and erosion of stream banks.
- The formation of stagnate water, especially in large water retention ponds where mosquitoes can breed.
Every utility-scale solar project in Virginia has resulted in excess stormwater runoff that has flooded neighboring properties and eroded stream banks. (See this video for an example of solar-caused flooding.)
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