How industrial solar farms impact the rural tidewater counties of the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck
Essex County Conservation Alliance|Jun 4, 2019
This useful paper examines the real-world impacts of large-scale solar development on rural land. The introduction of the paper is provided below. The full paper can be accessed by selectingthe document links on this page.
This useful paper examines the real-world impacts of large-scale solar development on rural land. The introduction of the paper is provided below. The full paper can be accessed by selectingthe document links on this page.
INTRODUCTION
This paper addresses the potential impact of industrial solar farms on the rural tidewater counties of the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck. As the pace of solar development rapidly quickens and decisions are made with increasing frequency, this paper aims to equip decision makers and the public alike with the information they need to take an informed stance on this issue and make decisions that best benefit the future of the community.
The focus of this paper is on the conversion and development of rural farm and forest lands into utility- scale solar-power generation stations, known as solar farms. This paper does not address the personal use of solar panels installed by a property owner to provide electricity for the owner’s home, farm, or business.
Based on the evidence presented here and other existing case studies, it is clear that solar farms are industrial activities that are unrelated to agriculture. Accordingly, if approved by a rural county’s board of supervisors, solar farms should be restricted to areas that are already appropriately zoned for industrial use. While the authors of this paper support solar power as an alternative energy source, we strongly oppose the destruction of productive farm and forest lands as a means of producing solar energy.
The popular term solar farm is a dangerously misleading concept, as solar farms pose a direct and very real threat to the agriculture, forestry, scenic beauty, unspoiled natural resources, and water systems that not only attract residents and visitors to the region but provide the vast majority of jobs for residents and tax revenues for local governments. The following research supports this stance and is presented in hopes of helping county policy makers and landowners make decisions regarding solar farms that preserve for future generations the scenic characteristics and quality of life benefits traditionally enjoyed by citizens of the tidewater counties of the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck.
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