Consideration of a moratorium on solar farms will go up for final approval by Iberville Parish Council at its next meeting.
The move will come after Council approved the proposal during a special committee meeting June 30. Final approval will be rendered at the next regular meeting, which has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 15 in the Council chamber.
The move, iif approved, would impose a two-year halt on consideration solar farm construction.
The solar farms rely on underground battery systems for at least a portion of their electricity.
The Council rendered the vote on the propsal in response to complaints and concern from homeowners who said the facilities would bring down their property values.
Since solar panels generate electricity during daylight, the battery systems serve as a large reservoir to store excess daytime energy to be dispatched at night, during cloudy weather or during peak demand.
Plaquemine resident Marvin “Coo” Pierce, who was adamantly opposed during the public hearing in April, told the Council he has had a change of heart on the solar farm.
“During the first meeting, I was pretty aggressive against the whole thing, and I want to apologize for that,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of research on it, and I’m not against it.”
He said the residential property owners three miles down the road from the proposed site stand would be the losers in the deal due to lower value on their land and homes.
“It’s great that Iberville Parish and the City of Plaquemine would get all this tax revenue when agricultural land goes up by 20 percent, but where to do we as homeowners fall into that?” Pierce said.
He referred to a comprehensive 2025 study by the National Academy of Scientists that residential property value depreciates once construction begins on solar farms within a three-mile radius of homes.
Homeowners take the biggest financial hit, Pierce said.
“The town will be rewarded by this, but we as homeowners will lose when they build this,” he said. “They analyzed real estate transactions near 3,699 acres of largescale solar arms, which showed that for the residents in homes within a seven- mile radius, experience an average of 4.8 percent decrease in probably value.“
Homes within a half mile showed a 7.2 percent decrease in property value.
“The key finding for landowners was agricultural land in a vacant acreage within two miles, increase in value by 194 percent,” Pierce said.
Resident Savanah Morales said the project could pose a problem based on the prospects that chemicals should leak or fire occur.
The leaks and explosions are hard to contain, she said.
“What happens when these things catch fire and the chemicals seep into the air?” Morales asked.
Morales also said the parish should make sure it has the infrastructure in place to protect the facilities, property and residents.
Other residents said the council should address other matters first.
“We definitely need a moratorium,” said Gary Harrell, who lives in Gay Subdivision. “We need to do something about drainage first.”
Other residents feared the underground terminals would pose a fire risk to neighboring schools.
They also believe it would be an eyesore, and that it would lead to increased heat and more noise.
Harrell also said it would not make much impact on the job market.
“I’m all for energy, but this solar farm with four full-time jobs is not the answer for us,” he said.
Pierce, meanwhile, said the facilities should be in an area such as Choctaw Subdivision, which has a smaller residential population.
Under the current process, residents ultimately come up short in every way with the plan, he said.
Residents will ultimately pay the price in terms of lower property value, Pierce said.
“The town and parish are going the be rewarded by this and the landowners will be rewarded when they sell, but I’ll lose when they build it,” he said.
The council’s decisio to bring the proosal to a vote followed a a forum April 28 in which residents overwhelmingly opposed plans by Entergy to build a 200-megawatt solar farm on 1,660 acres of land southwest of Plaquemine.
Proponents for the project said at the time it would bring the parish an additional $2.9 million per year in tax revenue and employ 200 workers during its construction. 

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