SUSSEX COUNTY, Va. -- More than 300 people packed the 4H Center in Wakefield, Virginia to voice their opinions on a project that would build solar panels on nearly 5,000 acres of land in Sussex County.
Kim Trimmer, who moved from Virginia Beach to Sussex, left the meeting in tears after she spoke before the Sussex County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission.
“I understand the amount of people living here has gone down, right?” Trimmer asked county leaders. “A lot of folks are dying. Who is gonna want to live here if we got no trees left. Who is gonna want to live here?”
“We don’t have a volunteer fire department and rescue squads,” another Wakefield resident added. “What’s going to happen if these batteries catch on fire?”
Those who spoke out said they were also concerned with the loss of timberland and fears of erosion, damage to wetlands, and water runoff contamination.
Molly Dowless spoke to CBS 6 last May when Blackwater Solar LLC began the process of seeking a conditional use permit and rezoning applications to build the solar farm that would encompass 13 miles of land.
"I just want to be clear that I was offered $2.4 million to participate in this project,” Dowless said. “Projects like these are so egregious that these companies have to offer millions of dollars in the form of signing agreement fees. I call that a bribe and that’s just to get the county to go along with it."
Solar farm proponents point to benefits such as job creation and tax revenue, including $130 million in lifetime tax benefits for Sussex County.
Susan Seward, a former Sussex County Board of Supervisors member, said the county has lost 15% of its citizens since 2000.
Nearly one in four current residents live below the federal poverty level.
She said a solar farm could help the county's bottom line.
"I started my eight years on the board opposed to utility-scale solar, but my viewpoint has changed because counties in Virginia now have tremendous revenue tools to monetize these projects in a variety of ways,” Seward said.
Developers also argue that several contracts are in place that would ensure Blackwater’s project was built according to best practices and to certify environmental and financial promises made to the community.
However, a majority present Monday night questioned the project.
They said they feared the long-term consequences of such a large-scale project.
“I hope you are empowered with the information that you need to make these decisions,” one resident said. “I hope you take it very, very seriously because you are about to make a decision that will last for your children, your children’s children, and their children to come.”
Neither the Sussex County Planning Commission nor the Board of Supervisors made a decision Monday night. County leaders said they will consider all facts and opinions before doing so.
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