ROCKY MOUNT — The Franklin County Board of Supervisors shot down a proposal for a new solar farm in Henry after significant community pushback at a public hearing held Tuesday.
Robin Ridge Solar was proposing a 35-megawatt solar generation facility near the former Henry Elementary School on a 376-acre property. Plans were to place solar panels on 121 acres of the property for energy storage that would be added to the Appalachian Power Co. transmission system.
Supervisors voted 5-1 against the proposal. Blue Ridge District representative Tim Tatum was absent for the vote. Tatum, though, stated earlier in the meeting he was not in favor of the solar farm, questioning who would clean up the solar panels once they are no longer in use.
His concern was shared by Boone District representative Ronne Thompson. He asked if it would be left up to the county to pay for the removal if the solar company were to go bankrupt.
“My biggest concern with this and all other projects is the decommissioning,” Thompson said.
Snow Creek District representative Nick Mitchell said his concern was the large amount of solar projects in the Henry area taking away from the county’s rural character.
That quality is something that supervisors have stated they have wanted to protect in the past, making it a part of the county’s comprehensive plan.
“We talk in our comp plan about preserving rural character. This is not the way to do it,” Mitchell said, pointing out that multiple other solar projects are proposed near the Robin Ridge Solar proposal.
Several neighbors of the solar project also voiced their objections to the proposal. Courtney Smith, who lives less than a mile from the proposed project location, was concerned the solar farm could lead to health issues, reduce property values and harm the environment of the surrounding community.
“I urge y’all, I beg y’all to please say no to this. We need to keep them away from our small, rural counties,” Smith said.
Elizabeth Turner, another Henry resident who lives near the project, said the solar installation would take away valuable land in the community. The property could no longer be used for farming or hunting once the panels go up.
“Projects like this don’t just change land, they change identity,” Turner said. “Covering open land with industrial panels risks erasing what’s left of our history and heritage.”
Following the public hearing, supervisors first discussed tabling a vote on the project due to Tatum’s absence. The project is located in Tatum’s Blue Ridge District.
“I’m not for tabling it,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got a lot of people here that are expecting us to take action.”
Mitchell then moved to deny the proposal by Robin Ridge Solar. That motion was passed with Union Hall District representative Dan Quinn being the lone vote in favor of the project. Quinn did not provide any discussion following his vote.
Jason Dunovant (540) 981-3324
jason.dunovant@roanoke.com
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