After years of discussion, a potential solar farm project has been denied.
The denial comes nearly five years after the project was first discussed and several years after the first application for it was submitted. In 2021, James and Jean Beall and Springbrook Farm LLC Representative Tina Weaver submitted an application to rezone their 91.89 acre parcel next to Yoder’s Country Store to M1, limited industrial. The split-zoned A-1, agriculture, and B-1, business, property required a rezoning to accommodate a solar project on the property—the desired use by the landowners. A special use permit, or SUP, was requested for the latter. That application went to a public hearing, but was tabled by the applicants and ultimately pulled from consideration.
Months later, the applicants appeared back before the planning commission with a representative from Louth Callan Renewables, or LCR, a solar development, engineering, procurement, construction and operations and maintenance firm headquartered in Suffield, CT. LCR submitted a draft site plan to the county for the solar project with rezoning and SUP hearings anticipated in early November. However, the actual application for the rezoning and SUP was never submitted and again the project was off the table.
In February, LCR submitted a new application for the rezoning and SUP with a hearing scheduled in July on the request of LCR CEO Nick Sylvestre after planning commissioners complained that the application wasn’t complete for previously scheduled June hearing.
The idea was for the project to tie into Rappahannock Electric Cooperative’s electrical grid at the Pratts substation and be used over a lifespan of approximately 35 years with an option to go to 45. Solar panels would cover 59 of the parcels 91.89 acres with 32 acres dedicated to open space and two acres covered by impervious surface. The project would have a landscape buffer in accordance with the county’s ordinance requirements and would feature native plant species for pollinators. The plan also included partnering with the Virginia State Beekeepers Association and local bee farmers to host hives on-site to support local honey businesses. Sheep were mentioned as a way to manage vegetation.
The project would have taken about 15 months to construct from start to finish and was estimated to contribute 28 jobs during construction, according to an economic and fiscal contribution report. That report also estimated accumulated county revenue of approximately $4.8 million over 35 years. The amount was comprised of real estate tax, an annual $100,000 capital payment and a newly approved revenue sharing ordinance of $1,400 per megawatt with a 10% escalator every five years.
However, planning commissioners and supervisors said there were just too many unanswered questions to approve the project.
Commissioners were also concerned about the idea of approving a rezoning, and thus enacting a rollback tax with the property coming out of land use, before approving an SUP. The two applications were split for the joint public hearing, with the rezoning first and the SUP second.
Commissioner Mike Snider said if the rezoning were approved, but the SUP was not, the land would essentially be unusable. Sylvestre had agreed to waive all other by-right uses allowed in the M-1 district if the rezoning were approved.
Planner Ligon Webb said the applicants knew the potential risks and had opted to pursue the rezoning and SUP.
During the public hearing on the rezoning, several spoke in favor of the project. Judy Mahanes said having the project so close to the Pratts substation seemed like a no brainer. She said the property is already trapped between highways with its location adjacent to U.S. 29 and doesn’t make for a good farming location.
“My hope is you work out the issues and make it work,” she said.
Bonnie Dixon, who said her son works as a marketing director for Delaware-based Clean Energy, also voiced support for the project. She pointed out a recent report that July 4 may have been the hottest day on Earth in 125,000 years.
“We are all responsible and if we can do something about it, we should,” she said. “[Solar] is pretty ugly [to look at] but considering the alternatives, someone needs to do it.”
Scott Bennett said solar is the cleanest energy available. He said the project would create jobs, especially during the construction phase.
However, David Parrish said the increase in jobs is a disconnect. He said the project wouldn’t directly benefit Madison County and he didn’t really want to look at it. Parrish’s property on Orange Road overlooks the Springbrook Farm property.
Don McCowan of the Piedmont Environmental Council suggested the county revise its ordinance and make solar projects allowable by SUP in A-1. He said rezoning to M-1 allows a host of other uses in perpetuity and there would be no guarantee future owners of the property would agree to the same waiver Sylvestre had.
Erin Nicholls, who has been vocal in her opposition to the project, agreed with commissioners that having a rezoning and then denying the SUP would be problematic. She also said Sylvestre’s waiver of the other by-right uses was neither dated, nor signed and thus not worth much. She said the project wouldn’t cause any decrease in local electricity bills and the energy generated would be sold. The jobs, she said, would be temporary and while not against clean energy, she couldn’t support a rezoning that would put industrial land next to residential land.
Commissioner Peter Elliott agreed with Webb that the applicants knew the risks. He said he would have a hard time telling someone they couldn’t apply to rezone their land. Commissioner Fay Utz agreed and said she’d find it odd for anyone to vote in favor of a rezoning and then not the SUP. She said she couldn’t think of a better place to have industrial zoned land than adjacent to U.S. 29.
Commissioner Nathan Cowan, who said the rezoning was the biggest hangup for him, agreed with Utz that the location made sense, at least, he said according to the comprehensive plan and 29 Corridor Study.
Utz said the idea to restrict solar projects to M-1 zoned land was an effort to protect the county’s land zoned otherwise.
Elliott made a motion recommending approval of the rezoning to the board of supervisors with only the solar project by SUP use allowed. His motion was seconded by Utz and approved 6-1 with commissioner James Graves III dissenting.
As for the SUP application, commissioners also recommended approval of it to the board of supervisors. Again, Elliott made the motion and Utz seconded it. However, Cowan joined Graves in his dissension, putting the vote at 5-2.
County attorney Hannon Wright voiced some concerns over the sitting agreement for the project, which would be between the county and South Seminole Solar, LLC—an entity created by LCR. He questioned a clause allowing the company out of its contract should the facility be without power for 10 days. Such an event would trigger decommissioning. Wright said he wasn’t sure how often something like that occurs. He said the new LLC could also be a concern since LCR hadn’t indemnified anything the LLC would do. However, he said the company had made some real concessions.
Cowan said it sounded like the county would be liable.
“I firmly believe in people’s right to make a living in a responsible way,” he said. “This SUP is different. The risk versus reward to this is a loser.”
However, Snider said the project seemed pretty good for the county. Elliott agreed.
“This is the biggest revenue generator the county will see for this property,” he said. “The supervisors did everything to hold taxes. A lot could happen [on this property that would draw on county services]. I see this being an offset good for the county.
“We worked really hard on the solar ordinance for something that would protect the county and benefit the county,” Elliott added. “If someone comes in and follows our ordinance [and we turn it down], maybe we should say don’t want solar, stay away.”
Commissioner Steve Carpenter said the application was still vague on its bee and sheep ideas and no-one would be present on a permanent basis to oversee the facility.
Allen Nicholls, who has been vocal in his opposition to the project, said the application was full of hedging statements. He said the creation of the LLC was an effort to deliberately make it difficult to sue should the company not meet its obligations.
“I still end up with more questions than answers,” he said. “I don’t understand why the county would want it. The revenue is less than 2% of the budget.”
Nicholls also pointed out the still undecided final route of the line to Pratts. It could cross in front of Yoder’s Country Market, which LCR said would occur on the opposite side of the street, or it could go the opposite direction near the school.
“Industrial is not appropriate next to residential,” he said.
Madison resident Roman Pizmoht said the project needed to be more thought out.
Like commissioners, supervisors also questioned voting on the rezoning before the SUP. Board of supervisors chairman Clay Jackson suggested making the rezoning contingent to the approval of the SUP.
Supervisor Carty Yowell said he thought the property was correctly zoned as-is. He said Sylvestre had waived by-right uses in M-1, but not SUP uses. Yowell said Conserve Virginia had identified the property as important farm land and he didn’t want to see it as anything otherwise.
“It’s not the appropriate spot,” Yowell said.
Supervisor Charlotte Hoffman agreed.
“I’m opposed to it as well,” she said, mentioning the continued deterioration of a solar farm she passes annually in North Carolina. “The first few years it looked good; last year it was bad; this year it was worse.” It’s unknown who the solar farm is owned by.
She said there was also too many unknowns in terms of decommissioning and while she wasn’t against solar energy, she was against in this spot.
Supervisor Dustin Dawson agreed as did Jackson.
“I’ve been hearing for 40 years about encroachment,” he said. “It’s been slowly coming—for 40 years. Madison is truly something kind of special and this is not what I want to see in Madison County. I want to see low impact business. This isn’t it.”
Supervisor Jim Jewett also pointed out the numerous uncertainties. He cautioned that future projects should be better submitted and compiled.
Supervisors voted to deny the rezoning 5-0, thus rendering the SUP application moot.
Upon exiting the room, Weaver could be heard mentioning potential future plans for the property—an Amazon distribution center.
