Supervisors inquire about proposed three-megawatt solar plant in eastern New Kent

With several multimillion-dollar companies shifting to a net-zero carbon footprint goal, solar farms and locations are popping up over the country at a fast pace. Now, a private company wants to place another one in the eastern portion of New Kent County.

Borrego Solar approached county leaders at the Mar. 30 work session to provide an outline on the facility that plans to be located on Polish Town Road (Route 634). The three mega-watt facility will be placed on approximately 23 acres of land and is located near Henrico Jail East.

The plan has already received a positive response from New Kent County’s Planning Commission during their March meeting. Company representatives for Borrego wanted to ensure county supervisors of the benefits of the plan, coming to them with a presentation prior to an anticipated Apr. 11 vote at the board of supervisors’ monthly meeting.

Borrego representative Jessie Robinson went over the history of the company, taking about the expansion from the west coast to the east coast. Robinson said the project is a response from a 2020 mandate from the state. The proposed project would feed directly into the power grid with some local residents having access to the route along the grid as it runs to the correctional substation that is located about a mile away from the proposed project. The project wouldn’t affect property value nor the wetlands or EPA (Environmental Protective Area) according to Robinson.

Robinson concluded her presentation by explaining to county leaders why the site was chosen.

“We chose this location because it is so far off of Route 33 and it can be screened by natural vegetation,” she said. “There are no surrounding neighbors and minimal visibility. A lot goes into finding a site for solar.”

After the presentation, supervisors had questions for the Borrego representative as a previous 20-megawatt solar plant located near the proposed location has drawn controversy and concern from nearby neighbors.

“Who is going to remove the panels after 40 years?” questioned District 4 representative Ron Stiers. “When they are removed, where do they go?”

Robinson responded by saying that the removal will be the responsibility of the project owner. As of now, the panels go to landfills, but she indicated there are several methods being used to increase the recycling and reuse of the panels.

“We did have problems with the other one and we continue to have problems with the other one,” commented District 5 representative John Lockwood, who is the supervisor of the area where the project would be located in. “I don’t know if it’s part of the conditional use permit (CUP), but if there are problems, will you be offline until it’s resolved?”

Robinson responded that if there is a problem that a study would be conducted if a problem occurs, and the company would have 60 days to correct it.

“And if it’s not resolved, what happens?” questioned Lockwood.

“Then I think we would be offline,” responded Robinson.

“I’d like to see that it be that you’re offline until it’s resolved,” Lockwood followed up with. “I’m concerned that adjacent to the property is Wahrani natural trail and if this is going to be visible from the trail.

“I’d like to see a map to see the proximity of that when you bring this back,” the District 5 representative concluded.

A public hearing and final decision on the project is expected to take place at the April board meeting.