On March 9, the Northumberland County supervisors will hold public hearings on two utility-scale solar farms. The hearings begin at 7:00 pm. (Agenda and hearing documents)
The first solar farm is on Old Glebe Point Rd (Tax Map Parcel #36-(1)-63), off of Jessie Dupont Memorial Hwy (State Route 200). The 45-acre parcel is owned by Steven W. Jett. Old Glebe Point, LLC has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a utility-scale solar energy facility on the property which zoned A-1. Read the Old Glebe Point Rd application (PDF).
The second is on Folly Rd (Tax Map Parcel #27-(1)-304 and 304A), off of Northumberland Hwy (US Route 360). The 37-acre parcel is owned by Steven W. Jett. 200 Folly, LLC has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a utility-scale solar energy facility on the property which zoned A-1, Agriculture. Read the Folly Rd application (PDF).
Rob Hickox, Land Delivery Project Manager at SGC Power (which is part of Pivot Energy), answered a number of questions in a conversation about the two projects.
- In both projects, the solar array will be surrounded on sides with a road or housing with two rows of coniferous trees. The trees planted will be aged so that they more quickly block the solar farm from view.
- Pivot Energy will maintain the projects through their entire lives, including decommissioning.
- Neither project will expand since there is a max capacity at the Dominion feeder and the cost of increasing it, or building a new substation, is substantial. By extension, this means that there will not be a proliferation of utility grade solar projects which would use that feeder; capacity is capacity, no matter the company wanting to connect with Dominion.
- The solar energy generated will be sold to consumers via Dominion’s Shared Solar program. The program enables customers to purchase a certain amount of energy produced by a solar facility. Each solar project must meet the requirement that 30% of customers are low-income.
- The project will meet the county’s requirements for mowing. The company’s current plan is to use a pollinator mix for the groundcover.
The value of solar on the Northern Neck
As a practical matter, sea level rise means more to those on coasts than to those elsewhere. According to NOAA’s National Ocean Service 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report,
The Next 30 Years of Sea Level Rise
Sea level along the U.S. coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10 - 12 inches (0.25 - 0.30 meters) in the next 30 years (2020 - 2050), which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years (1920 - 2020). Sea level rise will vary regionally along U.S. coasts because of changes in both land and ocean height.
Emissions Matter
Current and future emissions matter. About 2 feet (0.6 meters) of sea level rise along the U.S. coastline is increasingly likely between 2020 and 2100 because of emissions to date. Failing to curb future emissions could cause an additional 1.5 - 5 feet (0.5 - 1.5 meters) of rise for a total of 3.5 - 7 feet (1.1 - 2.1 meters) by the end of this century.
Utility grade solar can be somewhat of a protective factor for the Northern Neck’s environment and its residents. By reducing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing solar, even if the electricity is sold in another market, the Northern Neck can take action on this planet-wide threat.
And what about decommissioning? That cost should surely be borne by the developer and happen in an ecologically-friendly way. But the argument that decommissioned solar panels are a threat to the environment ignores the current threat fossil fuels pose in the future and have created. Remember, coal has been mined since the 13th century.
Why is the owner not farming the land?
Up until recently, the Folly Road property has been used for the owner’s general contracting business, not agriculture. The owner has the right to apply to the county to seek an alternative use to current zoning and that is what he is doing. But more importantly, that is not a public policy question, or one that should be entertained as part of this discussion (at least in my view as a long-time public policy practitioner).