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Updated: February 1, 2026 @ 9:24 am
A battle over a solar farm in Abbeville County is heating up, again.
A second proposal, to establish a 766-acre solar power farm north of the city at the intersection of highways 20 and 28, will be re-examined at a 6 p.m. Feb. 18 meeting of the Abbeville County Planning Commission.
The meeting will take place at the Abbeville County Administrative Complex.
The commission unanimously rejected a proposal for the Brush Hollow Facility, submitted by developer Delafield Energy, at its Nov. 19, 2025, meeting.
The proposed solar facility would feature bi-facial crystalline silicon panels with a lithium-ion battery energy storage system. If built, the facility can connect to the Duke Energy power grid.
A spokesperson for the property owner said the solar project provides a way to keep the farm viable, since the family does not have the skills and knowledge to continue to operate it.
More than 70 people attended the November meeting, said Andy Price, a county planner with the planning and zoning department.
Most spoke against the proposed farm in a 3½-hour meeting. The commission based its decision on shortcomings in the decommissioning section of the proposal.
Another concern raised was salvage value of equipment that would be used.
It was a well-attended meeting, Price said. It was standing-room only, with an overflow crowd in the lobby. About 30 people had signed up to speak.
However, only about 16 people did so, most of them urging the commission to reject the proposal.
Most solar farm projects are promoted by independent companies, to get lease deals with landowners for property and to present plans to Duke Energy, Price said in a Thursday telephone interview with the Index-Journal.
Price noted utility providers are approached in hopes of getting a contract to buy power the farm will produce. If Duke accepts, there is a chance the facility will be built; if not, then it will never happen, Price said.
The county’s zoning ordinance allows a solar farm in a forest agricultural zoned area, Price said.
The commission’s job is to make sure proposed projects follow rules and guidelines. The commission then passes along vetted proposed projects to county council for a vote.
A public notice in the Jan. 28 edition of the Press & Banner refers to the Feb. 18 meeting of the planning commission.
Abbeville County has dealt with two other proposals for solar farms, Price said. One involved a 70-80-acre facility from 2017 and the other was a 1,500-acre facility in 2024. Neither was built.
The latest proposal will be more visible. Price said it’s in a central area near highways 20 and 28 that border the property on both sides.
From discussions he has had with other government officials, solar power is a mixed bag, Price said.
There are lots of benefits and drawbacks.
Benefits are a farm doesn’t consume many resources or put much demand on county resources such as police and fire departments, and the operation is unobtrusive.
A drawback is a farm consumes a large amount of property, typically agricultural. That seems to be primary objection to the public on this, Price said.
The lot is pastureland for cattle now. Price said many people don’t want to see agricultural property rezoned to nearly industrial use.
Robin Hanks Brock is one of them. She lives near where a solar farm would be located. She rode horses on the lot when she was a child.
While she didn’t attend the November meeting of the planning commission, Brock said she attended other meetings about the farm.
Her concerns range from cleanup of the site in 30-40 years when the facility is shut down, whether the landfill could accept waste such as broken panels from the farm, heat and noise from the facility, the possibility of heavy metals seeping into the ground and into nearby creeks, and how property values would be affected.
Also, the wildlife would be impacted. Fences could be erected with smalls openings for small animals to navigate through, but what about larger animals such as deer, Brock asked.
“Environmentally, I worry about it,” Brock said. “If you have option of buying a house and another one 10 miles away, which one would you buy? Everything about it makes me sick to my stomach when I think about it.”
Marsha Cox lives across the road from the lot where a farm would be located. She is concerned about cleanup of the lot years later, as well as the safety of her water supply, which comes from a well.
“To me, it seems a scheme to get the money and run, and we’ll be stuck with this forever,” said Cox, who has lived on her property for more than 30 years.
The farm could provide up to $200,000 in tax revenue per year for 45 years, and energy production to help keep utility bills low, Brush Hollow Solar LLC representative Tom Delafield said at the November meeting.
When asked about job creation, Delafield could not say for sure if there would be any.
Plans project construction in 2029 and operation in 2030, he said.
At the November meeting of the planning commission, people opposed to the farm expressed concerns about a farm not meeting the goals in the county’s new strategic plan, herbicide use at the site, recycling of damaged panels and their risk of heavy metal leakage, the safety of lithium-ion batteries, whether a solar farm is productive use of property and the need to preserve farmland.
Supporters at the meeting touted the $200,000 per year in tax revenue with little consumption of local resources, the county’s need to expand its tax base, reduced pollution and the reduction of the use of fossil fuels.
People should attend the February meeting, Cox said. She hasn’t talked to county council members yet. Cox also said she wants to know what avenues people can take to halt the project.
Contact staff writer Robert Jordan at 864-943-5650.
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