The Henderson County Fiscal Court on Tuesday took further steps to place a moratorium on large solar energy system installations, unanimously approving a resolution that puts in place a text amendment to the county government’s 2019 solar energy system ordinance that would ban any new work on Level 2 solar installations, which are large-size solar fields like those currently under construction in the Robards area.
The moratorium would be in effect until Feb. 1, 2027.
The text amendment says that the moratorium aims to stop the “filing, processing, review and acceptance by the Henderson Fiscal Court; the Henderson City-County Planning Commission; the Henderson County Board of Zoning Adjustment; or any other department subdivision, agency, board or commission of Henderson County government of any and all applications for rezoning, conditional use permits, or other types of applications for Level 2 Solar Energy System installations.”
Two solar installations currently under construction in southern Henderson County aren’t affected by the moratorium. Throughout the moratorium, those companies are scheduled to continue work, finishing construction and then starting operations.
The two companies include National Grid Renewables and NextEra Energy Resource. National Grid Renewables is developing its 1,500-acre Unbridled Solar Project immediately south of Robards. It will include 400,000 solar panels, according to the company. NextEra Energy Resource’s two-phase Sebree Solar project will encompass 2,100 acres just to the north and west of Robards.
The resolution said that the county has concerns about the installations, including water drainage and glare experienced by drivers on roadways. It also said that there’s a potential that vegetation buffers that are supposed to hide the solar panels could be insufficient and there could be damage to public roads from increased water runoff.
In the 2-year timespan of the moratorium, local officials will gather data from observations of the current installations and, if needed, could make changes to regulations regarding solar installations, said the resolution.
A wrinkle to the moratorium process is a company that has already done some work, though more preliminary in nature. After the court met for a work session to discuss the moratorium on Nov. 19—when all magistrates indicated they were on board—a representative of Cordelio Power contacted Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider the next day, Schneider said.
Cordelio is planning a large solar installation and windmills, called Rock Bluff Energy Park, on reclaimed mine land in eastern Henderson County. The representative asked if its proposed operations would be included in the moratorium, in light of its being on reclaimed mine land away from county roads without any potential road damage or glare problems or need for vegetative buffers, the judge-executive said.
That question was answered Tuesday when magistrates agreed that the moratorium would cover Cordelio’s operations as well.
“I think it should be covered like the rest of them,” Magistrate Taylor Tompkins said.
Steve Austin, the former mayor of Henderson, is the local representative of Cordelio Power. He said the company about 2 ½ years ago leased around 12,000 acres of reclaimed mine land in eastern Henderson County near the Green River.
“They have quite a lot of work on that project,” Austin said.
Austin described the property, which is owned by Penn Virginia, as “kind of a wasteland.” He said there are test towers on it measuring wind speeds and direction.
Additionally, he said that the company has already secured more than 30 leases with landowners to place turbines on the land or nearby.
Also a part of the resolution is a directive that the Henderson City-County Joint Planning Commission holds a public hearing and then make a recommendation whether the text amendment shall be approved or disapproved and to give reasons. The public hearing for the zoning text amendment would come to the planning commission for its January meeting.
After that, the Fiscal Court would need to approve the text amendment to the ordinance for the moratorium to take effect.
Tim Vought, a vice president of project development for Cordelio, was contacted Tuesday afternoon but said he couldn’t comment until he was able to read the resolution.
Late Tuesday night, a representative of Cordelio sent a statement from Vought. It reads:
“The Rock Bluff Energy Park team acknowledges and appreciates the concerns raised regarding the development and construction of solar farms in Henderson County. We look forward to a dialogue with the Henderson City-County Planning Commission as they consider a moratorium, or future amendments to the County Zoning Ordinance. We’d note that our facility will be located primarily on reclaimed surface mine properties, and we believe the project will bring numerous benefits to the participating property owners and local area. In the end, we will adjust the schedule, facility design and construction procedures to ensure we comply with all County obligations.
The Cordelio Power team will make ourselves available for open dialogue throughout this process. By working collaboratively with landowners and government entities, we believe we can address any concerns and ensure that our project aligns with Henderson County’s values and needs. We pledge to provide accurate information in addressing any questions or issues that may arise as we further the Rock Bluff Energy Park.”
