Public hearing slated on proposed solar power plant rules - The Winchester Star

Public hearing slated on proposed solar power plant rules | Winchester Star | winchesterstar.com

BERRYVILLE — A proposed zoning ordinance amendment would significantly restrict where commercial solar power plants can be located in Clarke County.

After reviewing it Friday morning, the Clarke County Planning Commission scheduled a public hearing on the amendment for its next regular meeting at 9 a.m. Dec. 1.

The amendment would require new solar power plants to be located near one of two major electrical substations currently in the county. Plants wouldn’t be able to locate near any other substations that might be built in the future.

A solar power plant — also known as a “solar farm” — is a large installation of panels that generate electricity from light and heat emitted by the sun. The electricity is then sent to a regional power grid for distribution to homes and businesses.

Panels are usually installed on the ground. They’re made mostly of glass but also can contain plastic, metals and silicon, according to information online.

Clarke County has allowed solar power plants to be developed since 2010. One already established by Hecate Energy off U.S. 340 (Lord Fairfax Highway) between White Post and Double Tollgate has received permission from the county to undergo a second phase of development.

Horus Virginia LLC is proposing to develop a 50-megawatt plant at Bellringer Farm, near Chet Hobert Park and D.G. Cooley Elementary School just west of Berryville. The Planning Commission, which makes recommendations to the Clarke County Board of Supervisors on how to handle land-use issues, is postponing its consideration of the project until Horus makes some design changes.

Current rules limit solar power plant development to lots “within one mile of a pre-existing electrical substation of 138kV or higher voltage.”

Richmond-based Urban Grid has proposed establishing a 100-megawatt plant at historic Audley Farm off Harry Byrd Highway (Va. 7) east of Berryville. The firm hasn’t yet formally sought the county’s permission.

“We’ve made it clear ... that they wouldn’t comply with the ordinance” as it’s currently written because no substation is near the farm, said county Planning Director Brandon Stidham.

So “we wouldn’t be able to accept the application” if Urban Grid and Audley were to present one, Stidham said.

In July, the supervisors asked county planners to make changes to the zoning ordinance aimed at prohibiting any more solar plants from being established in Clarke. They expressed concern that the plants take away land needed for agricultural farms and open space.

Landowners, the supervisors maintain, find it hard to refuse incentives offered by solar plant developers.

Hecate’s solar power plant is near the current substation at 234 Double Tollgate Road, operated by Potomac Edison. The site of Horus’ proposed facility is near the other at 362 Ramsburg Lane, operated by Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC).

The proposed ordinance amendment lists those substations by their addresses.

Any future solar power plant would have to be located on property adjacent to either substation. All of the plant’s equipment would have to be installed within a mile of the substation, the amendment shows.

That would keep plants from being located near any new substations of 138kV or higher voltage that might be built in the county someday, according to Stidham.

However, the amendment would continue allowing the installation of “behind-the-meter” solar systems in the county. Individual properties could have solar panels generating electricity solely for them. The property owners would be able to sell unused power to an electric utility or cooperative — REC, for example — on a limited basis.

The way that the amendment is written, “the door will not be totally closed on solar” in Clarke County, at least for now, said planning Commissioner John Staelin.

It will enable officials to explore ways for solar power to be compatible with county land uses under the zoning ordinance, Staelin said.

The Dec. 1 hearing will be held at the Berryville-Clarke County Government Center on Chalmers Court.