Judge hears testimony on controversial solar project

CHESTERTOWN — An overflow crowd filled the meeting room at the Chestertown branch of the Kent County Public Library Tuesday, June 21, for a public hearing on the Mills Branch Solar project.

Public Utility Law Judge Dennis H. Sober presided over the meeting, which was called to elicit comment on a project to build a 60-megawatt solar power array on 370 acres of Kent County farmland. The project has met with opposition from the county commissioners and from the Kent Conservation and Preservation Alliance, also known as Keep Kent Scenic. The meeting was a chance for opponents and supporters to put their case on the record.

Sober told attendees he would not restrict anyone’s time, but he asked them to be concise and to avoid repeating a point at length if an earlier speaker had made it. He said he would extend the deadline for written comments from June 21 to Tuesday, June 28, in view of the extensive public interest.

Sober said the comments would be factored into his decision on the Mills Branch Solar application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Need, which would allow the applicant to build the array despite the county’s zoning ordinance, which limits solar arrays to 5 acres in agricultural zones. He said the law limits him to a yes-or-no decision on the application, but he can place some conditions on it if state agencies so recommend.

In all, nearly 30 speakers commented on the application. Among those testifying were several public officials, including delegates Jay Jacobs (R-36, Kent), Steve Arentz (R-36, Queen Anne’s) and a representative of state Sen. Steven Hershey (R-36, Upper Shore).

Jacobs said he is concerned about the use of productive farmland for solar power. He said it would be a bad precedent to approve the Mills Branch project, bypassing the local planning and zoning process. Kent County already has a “pretty significant” amount of solar power, he said.

Erika Howard, representing Hershey, read a statement from the senator. Hershey is opposed to attempts to degrade the rural setting and destroy farmland. Developers are targeting rural areas to find open, cheap land. The CPCN process is being used to expand the power of the Public Service Commission and bypass local government. Preemption of local zoning authority makes it nearly impossible to plan for the future, the statement said.

Kent County Administrator Shelley Herman Heller summarized the background of the county’s renewable energy policies, crafted by the Renewable Energy Task Force beginning in 2010. She said the county has a history of environmentally friendly practices. She said several tracts in the county have been identified as appropriate for utility-scale solar energy arrays.

Heller said that Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville, Va., the parent company of the Mills Branch project, has not approached the county with a site plan for the project and has given only vague promises of its benefits to the county. She said the applicant’s website shows no track record of successful solar installations. The county has analyzed ways to integrate clean energy into its economy, and it needs to investigate all aspects of the application before it is approved, Heller said.

The local farming community was well represented among the speakers. Jay Douthit of Millington, president of the Kent County Farm Bureau, said that agriculture is the economic base of the county. The Mills Branch project would erode that base, and other projects would take advantage of the precedent to further encroach on farmland. The loss of farmland would make it more difficult for young farmers to break into the business, he said.

Jennifer Debnam of Kennedyville, a past president of the farm bureau, said she opposed Mills Branch because it would be sited in an agricultural zone. She said there is sufficient land in a nearby industrial zone for the project, and she would not oppose it in that location.

Other witnesses who identified themselves as Kent County farmers opposed to the project were Frank Lewis, Pat Langenfelder, Brennan Starkey, Judy Gifford, Francis J. “Joe” Hickman, a member of the county planning commission, and Janet Christensen-Lewis. Most of them spoke of the need to preserve farmland, the importance of farming to the county’s economy and the need to uphold local zoning.

Ronald Fisher of Kentmore Park, an attorney who has worked with commercial energy companies, said he favors renewable energy but opposes a private entity taking advantage of policies created to benefit public utilities. He said the applicant is not subject to the same federal and state regulations as public utilities. He said preemption of local zoning would serve no greater public good.

Joshua Hastings of Easton, representing the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, said the conservancy favors renewable energy but opposes the use of productive farmland for arrays when there are brownfield sites, parking lots and other more suitable locations available.

Elizabeth Watson of Chestertown, a historical preservation consultant, spoke of the county’s Colonial heritage and the importance of agriculture in his history. She said the agricultural landscape of Kent County is as valuable as the Grand Canyon or Grand Tetons. “There’s plenty of room for solar in the county, but we need to be smart about it,” she said.

Paula Reeder of Still Pond, a real estate agent, said the applicant “has not respected any of our resources.” She said the only reason the case was before the judge was because the applicant “made a bad business decision,” buying farmland unsuitable for the purpose it had in mind. She said unless the site has unique attributes that justify overturning local zoning, the application should be rejected.

John Lysinger of Chesterville said the threat of unchecked development can be understood by looking at Middletown, Del. He said the Mills Branch project is attractive mainly because of federal subsidies the applicant hopes to obtain. He said the company’s arguments for the suitability of the site are “obviously specious.”

Several speakers said they favored the project. Bernie Kohl Jr., owner of Angelica Nurseries, said he considers it a great opportunity for Kent County, “a project we could be proud of.” He said it would be easy to return the land to agriculture after 30 years if its use for solar power is no longer needed.

Frank Miller of Denton said the threat of climate change “is with us now,” He said the need to limit sea level rise and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide makes it imperative to promote solar energy.

Freeman Evans, who owns a farm adjacent to the property, said he thinks the project is progressive in its use of energy sources other than fossil fuel. He said the quality of the farmland on the site is average at best, “a challenge to make a living” by farming it.

At the end of the hearing, Kent County commissioners William Pickrum, Ron Fithian and Bill Short, who sat with the judge during testimony, gave brief comments outlining their opposition to the project.

Written comments on the case should be emailed to david.collins@maryland.gov, or sent by regular mail to David J. Collins, executive secretary of the PSC, at William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202 – 6806. The PSC case number for the Mills Branch Solar project is 9411.

Judge Sober is presiding over evidentiary hearings in the case, which are open to the public, scheduled to run June 22-24 in the county commissioners’ hearing room at 400 High St. The sessions begin at 10 a.m.