Category: Stormwater (Page 1 of 4)

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:

1. The pollution of surface water, because the runoff can pick up pollutants as it flows into creeks and streams.
2. 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.
3. 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.)

See also:

• Chesapeake Bay watershed
• Southern Virginia watersheds
• Construction sites & stormwater runoff
• Understanding risks to agriculture & forestry
• Finding endangered species in your county

All construction sites fall under strict erosion and stormwater rules, especially in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Protection Area. Any site bigger than 1 acre is defined by the EPA as an industrial construction site. This includes all utility-scale solar projects in Virginia.

Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has published an Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook (both online and in hard copy). The Handbook covers in detail the measures it expects to see on all industrial construction sites. This includes stream bank stabilization measures, sediment traps, safety fences, construction road stabilization measures, and dust control, among many others.

According to Chapter 1 of the Handbook, “major problems can occur when large amounts of sediment enter [Virginia’s] waterways. This accelerated erosion is most often caused by (…) construction sites, urban/suburban stream banks, and logging roads.”

According to the Handbook, “the typical construction site erodes at a rate of up to 100,000 tons per square mile per year. This rate is 200 times greater than erosion from cropland and 2,000 times greater than erosion from woodland.”

What this means is that the construction of a utility-scale solar project will produce 200 times MORE stormwater runoff than agricultural land. And it will produce 2,000 times MORE runoff than land that is forested.

This is why it is so important to strictly regulate and control proper water management on all utility-scale solar projects. This ensures that neighboring properties are not flooded and that streams and rivers are not filled with sediment during periods of heavy rain.

All industrial construction sites must be inspected within 48 hours of a significant rain event to verify that stormwater overflow has been contained and that no erosion has taken place. (See the key points from a video webinar on stormwater, erosion, and sediment control at construction sites by a Virginia Beach legal firm.)

One of the main concerns of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is sedimentation in the Bay from its watersheds, such as the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah Rivers. Sedimentation settles on the bottom, killing bottom-dwelling animals and fish, and choking off sun from the water plants that provide nutrients.

See also:

• Chesapeake Bay watershed
• Southern Virginia watersheds
• Federal & state stormwater laws
• Solar panels & stormwater runoff