Good Morning, Everyone. It is another fine Sunday morning. This is James Exchange Quick Take. I am Nancy Gill, your host.
I recently became aware of the construction of solar farms in Buckingham County. I thought presenting information on the joint meeting with the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors would be an easy task. It isn’t. There are several layers to this project. First, there is a parallel path of two special use permits on the same property by the same company: Apex Clean Energy with the Riverstone Solar project. They are SUP290 and SUP299. The difference between them is a 35 acre parcel located within the original parcel specified in SUP290. The goal is to use this acreage for use during construction.
Additionally, on December 7, 2021 a Declaratory Judgment case was filed in Buckingham County Circuit Court (case#CL21000503-00) against The Board of Supervisors, Apex Clean Energy, and Riverstone Solar. This case involves SUP290 and the lack of proper notification to adjoining property owners. To be clear, SUP299 is a separate application and not a part of SUP290.
Tomorrow evening the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors are holding a joint meeting for public hearings on SUP299.
The property Apex Clean Energy has identified for the solar farm is in the Payne’s Pond area of Northern Buckingham on 2000+/- acres. The property is currently owned by Weyerhaeuser and from what I can gather, they will harvest the pines on the property leaving a buffer of 50 feet to adjoining properties.
At the Board of Supervisor’s regular meeting on February 14, several property owners spoke to the project. Their concerns were environmental (runoff to the James River and tributaries), disposal of the panels at end of life, having an “industrial” solar farm on agricultural zoned property, permanent jobs vs. construction jobs, time-line on construction, and the pace of the approval process. On the last, Apex requested an accelerated process on the public hearings.
Apex plans are to enter into a revenue sharing agreement with the County which over the 40-year life of the project would bring an estimated $16.8 million into the coffers. It would begin at $300,000 per year and every five years would increase by 10%.
If SUP299 is approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, the next steps include permits from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Army Corp of Engineers, and other state agencies along with Buckingham oversight.
Jimmy Merrick is the Development Manager for Apex Clean Energy and the point person for Riverstone Solar. I recently spoke with Mr. Merrick and asked in light of the Campbell County Altavista solar farm selling energy directly to FaceBook, if selling to a corporation was part of the plan for Riverstone. He answered that they have a division, Corporate and Industrial, that manages this type of sale.
In the August 23 meeting Commissioner Bowe asked:
Could I interrupt just one second? Who is the ultimate owner of this project? Is it Dominion power?
Merrick’s response:
I wouldn't say that. We've actually never sold projects to dominion power. We are an independent power producer. And so we'll develop these projects, we'll help with the construction, we'll sell the power to corporates or industrials, it could be Anheuser Bush, IKEA, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and we'll set that up. And then we'll look for a sponsor somebody that has $190 million that they can put down, you know, somebody in the market on a renewable energy project. And sure your local utility is poised to want to own the renewable energy project. But there are other folks in the United States that they also want to own solar.
I will have more on how power will be distributed once this has been determined. (As a side note, I have not corrected any spelling or grammar errors in any of the County’s audio to text translations).
This is a James Exchange Quick Take. As always, if anything I present in a podcast is not factual, let me know. And, I want to hear from you to share your story, event, or issue. Have a great Sunday!
The County is providing information on their website pertaining to tomorrow’s meeting. If you wish to make comment at the meeting, the process is:
1. In person Public Comments must sign up to speak. Sign up times are 5:30 p.m. to 5:55 p.m.
2. Written comments may be mailed to the Board of Supervisors at PO Box 252 Buckingham, VA 23921. Please limit word count to 500 words.
3. Emailed comments may be sent to publiccomments@buckinghamcounty.virginia.gov. Please limit word count to 500 words.
4. Telephone voicemail comments may be left to be played to the board by calling 434‐969‐5039
5.To appear virtually to the Board of Supervisors for comments please email public comments@buckinghamcounty.virginia.gov. You will receive notice with the link and/or telephone number necessary to connect virtually during the meeting.
Please note: Please state your name, district, address, and which hearing you are commenting on. The three (3) minute rule will apply to public comments. All correspondence must be received only by the methods above, and are due by 12:00 PM the day of the meeting.
Buckingham County Information
Apex Clean Energy
Riverstone Solar
Buckingham and Solar