Solar desert deep-sixed in rural Virginia
By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D. |November 30th, 2020|Energy
For the second time in 15 months, residents of rural Culpeper County, Virginia have risen up against a proposed massive solar array project, forcing the would-be developers to withdraw their application to put the renewable energy facility in the county’s picturesque rolling farmlands.
North Carolina-based Strata Solar had planned to build the $200 million, 1,700-acre, 149 megawatts project on cleared timberland in southern Culpepper. The land on which the industrial-sized solar array was to be built was zoned agricultural in keeping with the rural character of the area.
Maroon Solar, the name the developer gave to the project, was supposed to be another step on the way to a “carbon-free†energy future, but local officials and nearby residents raised strong objections. The Culpepper County Board of Supervisors (BOS) evaluated the project and, on Nov. 12, held a well-attended, four-hour public hearing on a request by Strata for a conditional-use permit for Maroon Solar. While some supporters of renewable energy, joined by a few property-rights advocates, spoke out in favor of the project, far more of those present expressed alarm over Maroon Solar’s effect on natural resources, property values, and the area’s scenery.
Permit Request Denied
https://www.cfact.org/2020/11/30/solar-desert-deep-sixed-in-rural-virginia/
