The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal to create a solar farm near Timberville at a meeting Wednesday evening.
Summit Ridge Energy, a solar developer based in Arlington, requested a special use permit to build a solar farm on land zoned for agriculture near the Legion Hills neighborhood, about a quarter-mile from Plains Elementary School.
The board of supervisors voted 4-0 to deny the request. Board chair Leila Longcor was absent.
Several Timberville residents came to oppose the request. Many were residents of the Legion Hills neighborhood and said they were concerned that stormwater runoff or other pollution could negatively impact the area’s soil, which is prime for agricultural use.
David Mewellski, who lives in Legion Hills, said the work required to build the solar farm would be slowed by the area’s rocky terrain. He also said that if the board approved the project, it would run counter to the county’s stated goal of supporting local agriculture.
“They’re not going to be able to just pound poles in the ground,” Mewellski said. “The property they’re planning on putting it on is on nothing but rock. This is going to be, literally, in my backyard.”
Jim Johnson, of Timberville, said solar projects also tend to use large quantities of municipal water.
“I’ve also seen some of these projects; what they don’t say upfront is that they require substantial amounts of municipal water, because they have to keep the system cool to keep it running properly.” Johnson said.
Don Driver, who owns a farm about 150 feet away from the proposed solar site, was worried about how the project could affect property values in the area.
“You hear a lot of folks talking about how nice it is to see the cattle, the corn fields and so forth,” Driver said. “Those are all values that are important to us. I began wondering, a little down the road from that, how do those values then turn into dollars?”
Driver cited a Virginia Tech study showing that homes and other real estate near solar projects often lose more value than at other sites, which could result in less revenue for the county.
Ben Gillespie, director of project development for Summit Ridge, said there would be no significant impact on property values in the area.
“We have a third-party analysis, a comprehensive tool,” Gillespie said. “They concluded that the proximity to solar farms does not negatively change the property values of properties close to the project.”
Contact Richard H. Hronik III at rhronik@dnronline.com, 540-208-3278, or on Twitter @rhronikDNR
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