Residents express concerns over proposed solar farms in Pilot Grove
PILOT GROVE — Cooper County residents came to the Pilot Grove High School on Tuesday to take part in a town hall discussion over possible 200-megawatt solar farms being built in the county.
Around 100 people filled the cafeteria of the high school to ask the project managers questions about the solar farms.
Renew Missouri and Renewable Energy Sources were present at the town hall to answer questions, where they largely told residents that the solar farm would not impact their farming or day-to-day lives.
A map presented at Tuesday’s meeting showed the proposed areas in Pilot Grove and beyond that would house the solar farms.
David Brumback, a local farmer, said his property is connected for about five miles on one side to a property that will hold a solar farm.
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“I’m just not wired to do that with my land that my dad (and) my granddad have bought and pieced together over the years,” Brumback said. “My sons, they will be the fifth generation on that land. So I just can’t do that with my land.”
Concerns brought up by residents during the meeting included tax incentives, drainage and water protections, protections for nearby residents, wildlife and agriculture protections, and road use and maintenance logistics.
During the meeting, both companies said the 200-megawatt solar farm would feed energy to transmission lines, but that it was not guaranteed that energy would remain local.
Negotiations with the Cooper County Commission are ongoing, according to representatives from Renewable Energy Sources.
The proposed solar farm project would begin construction in 2028 and be finished in 2029.