After dozens of residents voiced their disapproval, the Patrick County Board of Supervisors approved the Fairy Stone Solar siting agreement with a 3-2 vote at its Monday, March 11 meeting.
The board also set the real estate tax rate to not exceed the current $0.73 per $100 of assessed value for the fiscal year 2024-25.
Brandon Simmons, chairman, and of the Dan River District; Steve Marshall, of the Blue Ridge District; and Doug Perry, vice chairman, and of the Smith River District, voted for the motion.
Clayton Kendrick, of the Mayo River District, and Jonathan Wood, of the Peters Creek District, cast dissenting votes.
According to Patrick County’s Comprehensive Plan, solar projects are limited to 1,000 acres of the county’s 486 square miles, or 309,120 acres.
Before the votes were cast, the board discussed the motion and its implications.
Kendrick said he doesn’t want to see the county’s beauty ruined.
“I was at a meeting recently in Critz at the community center down there. There was a lady there from New York, and she had married and” come to Patrick County. “They had decided, she wanted to stay in New York, he wanted to come to Patrick County,” he said.
Kendrick said the man talked his wife into coming to the area one weekend to look at Patrick County.
“When they come up 58, not long about the Critz area, she saw the pretty rolling fields with the mountains behind them and she decided right then she wanted to move to Patrick County, and she did,” he said.
In his mind, Kendrick said he was thinking about how the pretty green fields would look with solar panels covering them.
“That’s my biggest objection to them. I just don’t want the county to change,” Kendrick said, adding that he knows the county must progress, “but I’m against them.”
He also mentioned the ongoing bid for clean energy, and noted that Philpott Dam still isn’t producing electricity after a fire about 10 years ago.
Simmons said he also heard a lot of people say when they ride down the road, they want to see the beautiful fields and trees.
“The first thing I have to say for that is the people who have worked hard to afford to buy that and keep it all their life, you’re telling them that because when you want to see it when you ride down the road, they” can’t do that, “they have to leave that in trees and grass,” he said.
“Also, if we’re saying that we can’t do it just because of the sight of it, then we might as well go ahead and say we are headed for zoning,” he said. “Because if you can’t have this because you don’t like the look of it, then we’re going to have to take care of all the junkyards, all of the yards in Patrick County that have more than four or five cars sitting around that cannot be used.
“We’ve got have all of the barns and farms everywhere that have been torn down or falling in, all the dilapidated houses, all the business buildings that have been falling in for years,” Simmons said, adding there are few roads in the county one can travel without encountering something that’s falling in, junkyards, or an area being clearcut.
He also understands the concerns for safety, “but too, I have to say this. There have been board members for years, and also many other people that have sat in this very room that don’t like solar too, that have said they don’t want that, but they have many times, and I know the biggest majority of the county says every day, we have a cellular problem, we need more cellphones, more cell towers, more cell towers,” he said.
If one were to look online, Simmons said there is just as much, if not more, information about harmful radiation from cell towers than about leaking from solar panels.
“That’s the concerns I have. I understand them, but at the same time, just like with the view shed… it’s not fair for people to say, ‘You can’t have that on your land’ but we’ll let you have all of the junk” you want, he said.
Marshall said the cadmium telluride several people are concerned about is fear mongering that’s going to destroy the county.
“It’s in each one of these computers you see up here, it’s in your television if you have a flat-screen TV, it’s in every LED light if you have a flashlight,” he said.
Marshall encouraged everyone to read between the lines because others would amplify situations to make them sound worse and garner support for their opinions.
Wood said he spent a lot of time at college as a science-based major.
“I know as well as anybody else that you can look and find whatever you want to, to make the facts read your way. But I do not want that, and I don’t like the looks of it,” he said.
Wood said people can say the panels are going to leak or they are not going to leak, but they really don’t know.
“I just know they’re not going to be a benefit to our viewsheds,” he said. “And I don’t want to have to explain to my little girl that’s being born in July that your daddy approved to have that mess sitting over there on Commerce Street, (or) on Route 8 in Fairystone.”
Perry said Fairy Stone Solar must comply with a long set of requirements to set the projects up.
“At the end of the day, as long as they meet these requirements, again, how can we tell a landowner, ‘No, you can’t do this,’” he asked.
After the votes were cast, almost every member of the public left the meeting room while voicing their dissatisfaction with the motion’s passing.
“Remember this when the people turn their backs on you. Remember this. For those of you who voted yes, when we turn our backs on you. Because you turned your backs on the citizens of this county. We’re going to turn our backs on you, you’ll see what happens,” Leo White said while pointing at the board as he left.
Almost two dozen residents spoke during the meeting, primarily in opposition to solar. Everyone was given three minutes to speak to the board.
Trena Anderson said March 28, 1979, was the day that changed her life.
“This year’s the 45th anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant partial reactor meltdown. The reactor released radiation, and years later coolant from the damaged reactor was released into the Susquehanna River,” she said.
Anderson, who was fewer than six air miles from the reactor on that date, said those affected still suffer physically. In 1982, Anderson said it was discovered that highly toxic chemicals, some of which are used in the production of commercial solar panels, were illegally dumped into the Dauphin County Landfill.
“The toxins penetrated the groundwater as well as local waterways. In less than a year, six people living near” the area “were diagnosed with leukemia and other cancers. People died,” she said.
After investigations, Anderson said the landfill was closed, with wells and homes being condemned. The government also had to provide water to many households in the area, and in some cases, still does.
“Forty-two years later, many residents were forced to move due to the contamination and lack of clean water,” she said, adding many chemicals are still found in the area’s waterways. Swimming and fishing are still restricted.
Anderson said nearly every person she knows who lived in that area has become sick or died.
“I ingested all of those toxic chemicals in my water at the age of 22. In 1993, at the age of 33, I was diagnosed with a form of thyroid cancer that hadn’t been seen in anyone my age. Doctors were stunned, I had a total thyroidectomy and started treatment,” she said.
Last May, Anderson said she was diagnosed with another unusual form of cancer that is most likely due to injecting the toxic water between 1982 and 1983.
“One chemical released into the groundwater in Pennsylvania was trichloroethane, an industrial solvent which is found in most solar panels. If there is a fire at a solar farm, this toxin will be released. It will infiltrate the groundwater and the waterways. If this occurs, all of us living in Patrick County could be subjected to the hell I’ve dealt with for decades,” she said.
Simmons asked Anderson to wrap up her statement as she reached her three-minute mark.
Denise Stirewalt asked to be allowed to donate her time to Anderson to allow her to finish speaking.
“The rules we adopted in January say we can’t do that,” Simmons said.
“So, a rule is more important than the lives of children in Patrick County. Is that what you’re saying Mr. Simmons,” Anderson asked.
“No,” Simmons responded.
“Mr. Simmons,” Anderson said.
“No, I’m not,” Simmons said.
“I’m asking for some more time,” Anderson said.
“Well, I’m not giving it. Everybody” gets “their three minutes,” Simmons said.
“You know, you’re pretty rude,” Gail Spencer said from the audience.
Stirewalt finished reading Anderson’s comments during her speaking time.
“It appears that some supervisors are more willing to trust and believe the solar companies than science and experience. The LLCs involved will dissolve and who will be responsible if or when an accident happens? Patrick County will end up paying for the cleanup, but at that point, it’s too late. Land, wells, and waterways will be condemned and unusable,” Stirewalt read.
The county’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren will get sick, and some will die, Stirewalt read.
“I am proof that many of these toxins can and do poison decades after exposure. This will happen because a small group of men felt they were smarter than everyone else. Money overcame common sense, poorly written ordinances were passed, taxpayers, voters, landowners, and concerned citizens were ignored by some of the five men who reigned over them,” she read.
Stirewalt also voiced her desire for the board to not approve any solar farm in this county.
Spencer spoke about those who do not want solar farms in the county allegedly being threatened and being the victims of vandalism.
“It has not happened, that I am aware of, to people that want the solar panels. This has happened to people on this side of the aisle. And you want to know why? Because we don’t act like that and it’s shocking to know that there’s somebody in this county that is acting like that,” she said.
Spencer said one of her best friends was threatened and had his truck vandalized.
“There is no sense in that and quite frankly, I’m calling them out, they’re cowards. Because the brave people in this room right now are the ones that had the sense to come in, speak their mind calmly, respectively,” she said. “I know that some of our meetings have gotten disrespectful, but we did not feel like we were being listened to, nor did we feel like we were getting the adequate information that we wanted. We will not be bullied into this, and we will continue to push back on this if you all vote yes.”
Vance Agee, Benjamin “Ed” Pool, Tim Seeley, and Malcolm Roach spoke about the potential danger of cadmium telluride, which they said would be a component in the solar panels.
Pool also publicly apologized to Perry for “uttering what I consider a personal insult to Supervisor Perry” at a previous event.
Richard Landis and Karen DeCapp said the board has a responsibility to vote the way the people want, because they were elected by the people.
Jamie Clark, Noel Foster, Mary Beth Clement, and Crystal Harris spoke about how solar farms in the county will destroy tourism and affect the scenic view shed that draws in visitors each year.
James Bogle said he doesn’t want the county to pick up the cost of cleanup “because an LLC isn’t around anymore when we find out the project went south.”
Bogle said the board is the last fail-safe to stop the actions of the Planning Commission, which passed an ordinance he believes doesn’t cover all of the concerns that are needed to protect the county.
“If you rubber stamp what they did and pass this ordinance, we’re going to have to live with the results. I’m not a gambling man, and I hope you’re not either because if you’re willing to gamble on a short-term profit against what may happen in the future for a hazardous cleanup, God help us all,” he said.
Anita Foley and Morgan Marshall voiced their concerns about the environmental impacts solar panels could cause.
Joe Cadrin said he believes solar energy is not reliable and LeeAnn Seeley said she believes energy costs will not go down with solar energy.
Mike DeCapp voiced his concerns about Fairy Stone Solar’s parent company Energix, and its numerous Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) violations in state water control law and regulations in multiple solar facilities.
Steve Ferring was the only person to voice support for solar facilities.
“This is going on private property. The property owner has the right to do with his property as he sees fit. We have no zoning laws in Patrick County, and I don’t want them because I might want to do something with my property that some folks may take umbrage at,” he said.
Kenneth Terry also spoke about how solar energy is against God’s order of things.
Norma Bozenmayer said her fear is not solar farms as much as the debate that’s going on and neighbors turning on neighbors.
“I’ve seen a total disrespect for elected officials and volunteers in public meetings, and I’ve seen threats to recall elected officials. This” divide in the community “is more concerning to me than any solar installation,” she said.
Bozenmayer said she feels if one is not supporting the anti-solar movement, they are perceived as the enemy.
“No one’s asking calmly, no one’s listening, and unlike other things in the county that I’ve seen, no one’s working together to solve the problem,” she said.
In other matters, the board:
*Scheduled a public hearing on a cellular tower that will be installed at the Patrick County High School for April 8.
*Approved a resolution to apply for funding through the Flood Prevention and Protection Assistant Fund (DSFPPAF) for dam safety.
*Approved an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding request.
*Approved the meeting minutes.
*Approved the bills, claims, and appropriations.
*Held a public hearing on the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) proposed six-year highway plan.
*Heard the administrator’s report.
*Heard the supervisors’ reports.
*Heard from Anderson about censorship and the board’s need to listen to the people.
*Heard from Ferring about the county’s need for a purchasing agent.
*Heard from Kurt Bozenmayer about the divisiveness in the county regarding solar.
