Stormwater control and excess water runoff from utility-scale solar projects is not a new problem. And it is not unique to Virginia. This article describes significant water runoff problems from a relatively small 24-acre solar project in near East Lyme, Connecticut.
Problems included the clear-cutting of trees from the project area; excess silting of streams and kill-offs of fresh-water trout; and the lack of response from solar developers responsible for installing the project.
Stormwater management and its impact on watersheds is a potentially large problem in Virginia because of high-intensity solar project development proposed in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the southside river basins.
Read the compete article here: “Downhill from a solar project, concerns mount”
The following problems were mentioned in the article:
- “Clear-cutting” of the forest by the developer left the watercourses a silted mess, killing off the freshwater trout that once made the streams a haven for fishermen.
- A civil engineer said that peak runoff volumes were “grossly” underestimated , partly because of changes in the soil resulting from the project’s clearing of trees and partly because the effect of solar panel runoff was not taken into account.
- Stormwater management and erosion control were “inadequate” and the solar company did not always follow through on its own engineering plans.
- Downhill from the solar project, trout streams silted in, preventing trout from spawning because silt covers the gravel they need to do so.
- Concerned neighbors didn’t have much time to prepare before the project was approved, noting that they thought the stormwater plan was “kind of sketchy” but “didn’t know enough to say anything.”
- Environmental advocates say the community “shouldn’t have to trade off water quality for having solar put in” and that solar should be sited “in the most environmentally responsible area.”