A siting agreement for a commercial solar project in the Rosedale community of Russell County will be considered by the board of supervisors during its Monday meeting.
The project is being developed by CEP Solar, which is part of Commonwealth Energy Partners and based in Richmond. It will be built on depleted farmland near the Russell-Tazewell County line that is owned by the Stuart Land & Cattle Co., which is believed to be the oldest continuously operating cattle ranch in the country.
Originally, CEP officials said the project would be up to 12 megawatts, but that number has been reduced to up to 5 megawatts. CEP said during a public hearing in November that they hope to participate in Appalachian Power’s shared solar program.
As of Friday, the Rosedale project was not listed as an approved part of the program and was not on the wait list. However, a spokesperson for Appalachian Power said Friday that the company is aware of the project.
Two solar projects in Russell County that have been awarded capacity in the AP program are the River Mountain facilities, which are being built off River Mountain Road on farmland outside of Lebanon. Each will be 5 megawatts, and the completion date is expected to be in December 2027.
Those projects are being developed by New Leaf Energy, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, which is also working to develop solar facilities in Scott County. The siting agreements for those projects have already been approved by the county.
The public hearing on the Rosedale project lasted for more than an hour and drew comments from two citizens who said they oppose the project, three who said they support it and several others with questions, including concerns about the placement of panels.
After the hearing, the board agreed to table consideration of the siting agreement until December so those questions could be answered.
The agreement provides terms for developing and then decommissioning the proposed solar facility, financial compensation to be paid to the county and tax payments.
Under the siting agreement, the facility will be surrounded by a 6-foot security fence that will be topped by another foot of barbed wire. To minimize the visual impact of the solar panels, there will be a vegetative buffer that will be at least 30 feet wide. To reduce glare, the panels will have anti-glare technology and anti-reflective coatings, the agreement states.
According to the agreement, annual machinery and tools taxes will be paid, and the county will receive money through a revenue-sharing agreement that is based on the project’s number of megawatts. CEP will pay the county $100,000 to help with community capital needs when the final site plan is approved. Once the company receives the final building permits, it will also provide $25,000 to the county’s volunteer fire and emergency services departments.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at the Russell County Governmental Center in Lebanon. Here’s the agenda.