On June 3, Middlesex Supervisors unanimously approved an extension of a special exception for a 3-megawatt solar facility on 44 acres at 218 Wood Brothers Road in Hartfield.
The land is being leased for 30 years from William K. Wills. The site is north of the Hartfield Convenience Center.
In February 2020, the MCBS approved a special exception for the Wood Brothers Road Solar “small utility scale solar energy facility.” A condition was the building permit would have to be obtained within five years. This deadline was not met, so the owner asked for and was granted an extension by the MCBS for the building permit deadline to be extended to Dec. 31, 2027.
Megawatts?
This facility is 3 megawatts. In contrast, the Puller Solar Facility near Hartfield is a 15-megawatt facility. The solar facility proposed for North End Road would have been 20 megawatts, but it did not receive a special exception from the MCBS.
The Wood Brothers facility could not be increased without getting approval of the county and Dominion Energy, according to a Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (Greenbacker) representative. Further, the panels can only be on 60% of the parcel, according to regulations.
The site has already been approved by DEQ and the county for erosion and sediment control.
The solar site is naturally screened with forest on three sides and will be screened with a 25-foot vegetated buffer, according to the applicant. It is adjacent to “Wills Earth Materials” which sells fill dirt, top soil, sand, etc.
Background
In 2022 Greenbacker purchased the Wood Brothers Special Exception from Sun Tribe Solar.
Since 2011, Greenbacker, a Delaware limited liability company, has been acquiring and operating “renewable infrastructure projects,” according to information supplied to the board of supervisors.
Greenbacker has 450 energy projects across 36 states, districts, territories and provinces, and has 200 total employees among its four offices in Maine, Vermont, New York and Colorado.
This facility will use the “highest quality “tier one” solar panels, which are made in China, a Greenbacker representative told the board responding to a question from Jamaica District Supervisor Wayne Jessie.
Greenbacker Donation
The representative also said Greenbacker will voluntarily donate two UTVs (John Deere utility vehicles called “Gators”) to the county’s emergency services fire and rescue organizations. They will cost a total of $60,000.
Harmony Village Supervisor Reggie Williams indicated that Greenbacker should give a larger donation. “I think you all can do a little bit better,” Williams said.
The Greenbacker representative told the MCBS they would continue to talk with fire and rescue officials to see what other donations may be appropriate.
