Buckingham County just voted to approve a Special Use Permit for a utility-scale solar project on 2,000 acres owned by the Weyerhaeuser company, which currently uses that land as a tree farm. The project is slated to produce 149.5 MW of energy, which is 0.5 MW under the threshold set by the General Assembly for more rigorous review by the State Corporation Commission.
The land intended for the project is within the James River watershed, which itself is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Concerned residents have pointed out that massive stormwater runoff problems have plagued other solar projects in the state, including one in Louisa County. The Daily Progress published this opinion-editorial last week, urging the Board of Supervisors to slow down the review process so that all aspects of the projects can be reviewed carefully.
“Buckingham needs more study of solar farm,” The Daily Progress, 27 Feb 2022
A 2,000-acre solar energy farm could provide Buckingham County with a welcome revenue stream. But it could also injure the county’s farm land and forests and create run-off into the James River. That’s why a Buckingham Board of Supervisors’ vote on a special use permit for the project scheduled for tonight should be delayed. Questions need to be answered for county residents before—not after—approving the project.
The best strategy for the huge solar power generating facility planned on acreage now serving as a Weyerhaeuser tree farm is caution. The board can best represent its constituents by slow-walking the process rather than ramming it through. Adjacent property owners worried about erosion caused by precipitation running off thousands of impervious solar panels need explanations of why that won’t happen. Residents who fear pollution of the James River, which is about half a mile from the project, must trust that this iconic natural resource will be protected.
Answers about the handling of the permit request also linger. Developers and the county hope to run it through a permit by rule process. The process speeds up the approval of various agencies and allows for subsequent modifications. It is reserved for solar projects of 150 megawatts or less. Developers of the Buckingham project propose to generate 149.5 megawatts. Critics say this will reduce the initial regulatory oversight that comes with larger projects.
The key to ensuring good outcomes and community trust for future utility-scale solar projects appears to be more information and a better understanding than may currently exist.
Here’s what a 2021 Virginia Commonwealth University study concluded about the environmental impact of huge solar farms: “While solar energy has become an important component of land use considerations in many rural communities across the Commonwealth, there is very little information available that comprehensively evaluates the existing land use impacts and development trends of solar facilities.”
That does not mean the Buckingham solar farm should not eventually be built. It does mean that the project deserves much more consideration of potential down sides than it has so far been given.