The Page Valley News reports that the Page County planning commission recommends that the Board of Supervisors reject the application for a large-scale solar project.

The proposal was for a 559-acre project on Route 340 near Luray. The planning commission’s view was that the project was too large, posed too many environmental concerns (damaged panels, loss of farmland, erosion and sediment control, wildlife impact, among others), and damaged the natural beauty of the region.

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Did you know that there are 68 endangered and threatened species in Virginia that are at risk from large-scale solar projects?

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed by Congress in 1973 to protect fish, wildlife, and plants from becoming extinct. Congress judged that these various species are of ecological, historical, and scientific value to the country and that it is critical to protect them from extinction or even the threat of extinction.

“Endangered” species are any species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

“Threatened” species are any species that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or most of its range.

The Endangered Species Act requires states, including Virginia, to conserve endangered and threatened species by taking the necessary steps to protect them, including by establishing and protecting their critical habitats.

Bedford County supervisors have voted down a proposed ordinance that would have allowed large, utility-scale solar projects in the county. The reasons included concern over losing agricultural land and the impact of large solar fields on rural vistas. (This decision has no/no impact on individual homeowners installing solar panels on a roof, which is regularly approved by county planners.

The Bedford planning commission researched a proposed ordinance by visiting counties, such as Campbell and Appomattox, where large solar projects have been installed. They found that one key problem has been erosion and sediment control, an issue with every large solar project constructed to date in Virginia. (See this video for images of stormwater flooding caused by a large solar project in Louisa County and this summary of the Department of Environmental Quality’s assessment of the risks of flooding and runoff from solar project construction.)

“Bedford County supervisors kill proposed utility-scale solar farm ordinance,” The News & Advance, 3 Mar 2022, by Shannon Kelly