VERONA – Matt Hooper, Senior Director of Development for AES, stood earlier than the Augusta County Planning Commission on May 14.
His purpose is to persuade the board to advocate a greater than 1,600-acre photo voltaic power system, together with landscaping buffers, divided into 5 websites. He represents AES, an organization that operates photo voltaic power techniques in Spotsylvania County, Wight County, and Charles City.
According to the mission’s govt abstract, the power has 470 acres of fenced mission space, the metric that determines whether or not a photo voltaic power system is categorized as giant or small in Augusta County.
“There is a Dominion 115-kV transmission line that goes via this area in Stuarts Draft,” Hooper instructed the fee. “We attempt to place these initiatives near the prevailing infrastructure, in order that we do not have to construct further traces to hook up with stated infrastructure. This particular line right here has been extensively studied and decided that it has further capability .What meaning is that we will plug the road immediately with none community upgrades.”
Second time round
This isn’t the primary time {that a} model of this mission has come on board. The authentic model was roughly 2,700 hectares with environmental buffers.
“Augusta Solar LLC’s first mission was initially submitted to the county in 2019 by Community Energy Solar,” stated Julia Hensley, an Augusta County group improvement planner. “At this time, the proposed mission is a 125-megawatt mission with roughly 1,100 fenced acres.”
In 2019, the planning fee advisable the mission to the Augusta County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors held a public listening to in February, however waited till May to reject the mission in a 4-3 vote.
Augusta Solar LLC and the mission’s 13 landowners then appealed the choice in Augusta County Circuit Court in June. By September, the supervisors had paid greater than $5,000 in authorized charges associated to the case.
A brand new software was submitted for the mission in 2023, and got here to the planning fee on May 14. The preliminary revised proposal decreased the metawattage to 102 megawatts inside 612 fenced acres, with 114 hectares below photo voltaic panels. Augusta County employees offered further suggestions, and the mission was additional decreased to 90 megawatts, with 470 fenced acres and 131 below photo voltaic panels. Including all different land makes use of, the full hectare of the mission is 1,693.
“It’s been tremendously decreased because it was initially submitted,” Hooper stated. “It’s really decreased by about 60%.”
A divided public
More than two hours of public listening to was held – out of 24 audio system, 14 had been in opposition to the mission and 10 had been in favor.
Waynesboro Nurseries is listed because the property proprietor of 9 parcels within the mission. Max Quillen spoke as a consultant of Waynesboro Nurseries in favor of the mission. This isn’t the primary time he has endorsed photo voltaic farms.
“We need the liberty to maintain the land fairly than promote it for industrial or residential improvement,” Quillen instructed the fee. “The comp plan says that our wants as landowners have to be taken into consideration. Landowners must be allowed to find out the perfect use of their property.”
Quillen is certainly one of many native landowners who’re confused by photo voltaic power techniques. He countered that his land must be used “indirectly that helps justify the price of growing the capability of the sewage remedy system, creating extra jobs, and growing the county’s tax base” than the photo voltaic system. .
“There are many different sections of the ComPlan that particularly assist landowner rights, sustainable agriculture, diversifying earnings for farmers, bettering the surroundings, and facilitating the switch of land to the technology,” Quillen stated. “This is all supported by the photo voltaic mission.”
Many of the audio system in opposition to the mission pointed to the consequences on rural views and most of the similar arguments cited by Planning Commissioner, and supervisor, Carolyn Bragg. Bragg moved to not advocate the mission to the board of supervisors.
The fee was opposed
This isn’t the primary time Bragg has labored on the mission. He was a part of a number of listening to classes on the mission’s first software in 2019. Bragg thanked AES for speaking to him in regards to the new software about six hours earlier than the May assembly.
He cited the “lack of consideration” given to the longer term improvement of Augusta Water. According to a mission memo to the planning fee from Augusta Water, the mission will restrict improvement to 1,260 acres of property. If this property had been developed in a different way, the memo estimates that Augusta Water would see a further $4.8 million in water income over the subsequent 35 years. The improvement of photo voltaic will take this potential improvement earnings off the desk.
“You have to take a look at the misplaced alternatives,” Bragg stated, additionally citing tax income variations between photo voltaic techniques and different companies. “What will we lose by doing this versus profitable?”
The totality of the mission might be situated in 5 sections throughout the Urban Service Area or Community Development Area of the excellent plan.
“Our insurance policies particularly say, ‘city providers and group improvement are strongly discouraged.’ Every certainly one of these parcels is in city service or group improvement, with out exception,” Bragg stated.
He additionally cited issues over the clustering of photo voltaic power techniques, with many separate websites shut to one another. Some of the websites could also be near residential property.
“If you determine to not do it, the 470 plus acres are instantly accessible for rising,” Bragg stated. According to Bragg, in Augusta County, “We wish to be accountable and gradual progress, not all of sudden. A mission of this measurement, in an space of progress is 470 acres of 1 time, not progressively, not over time.”
He then made a movement, “I wish to transfer to search out that the AES photo voltaic mission isn’t a considerable settlement within the Augusta County Comprehensive Plan and that we advocate denial of this mission.”
The opinion was shared by six of the seven members of the planning fee, and Bragg’s movement was permitted by a 6-1 vote.
AES responded
After the assembly, Hooper instructed The News Leader he was dissatisfied however didn’t wish to remark additional on the fee’s resolution. The subsequent day, he despatched a press release.
“AES is dedicated to growing accountable clear power initiatives that present long-term optimistic impression for the surroundings and native communities,” wrote Hooper. “While we disagree and are understandably dissatisfied with the planning fee’s resolution to grant the proposed Augusta photo voltaic mission a 2023 complete plan compliance search, AES appears ahead to persevering with to work intently with the county and group to search out the precise path to a profitable mission that builds on our shared targets.”