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JACKSON – A trio of Northampton County citizens made a presentation to the commissioners during their meeting on April 7 to urge them to consider extending the moratorium on new solar farms and adding more regulations to the county’s ordinance.

“Tonight we will share disadvantages to having solar farms in our county, which we believe far outweighs the advantages to having them,” said Sylvia Vincent who spoke first.

Vincent lives in the Vultare community outside of Gaston, and has regularly spoken during public comments in the last year about the impact of construction on large solar facilities in her community. She emphasized several of those points again during her presentation.

She explained that large utility-scale solar farms negatively affect wildlife in a number of ways, including removing their habitats through deforestation and blocking their access to food and water with fences. This causes animals to move into places where more people live. Birds are also affected, Vincent said, by confusing solar panels for bodies of water.

Continuing her presentation, Vincent explained that solar facilities affect the environment too. Clearing the land for solar fields increases soil erosion, which can negatively affect nearby bodies of water. She noted, for example that the Roanoke Rapids Dam and Gaston Dam are close to where these large-scale facilities are currently being built in her part of the county.

Vincent also stated that chemicals used for weed and vegetation control on solar farm properties can seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, and there’s a risk that toxic by-products can be released into the soil from improperly maintained panels.

“Improper decommissioning can lead to environmental contamination, particularly if photovoltaic panels are not disposed of correctly,” she said.

She also emphasized the affect the construction has had on people too, particularly her community.

“During construction, there is an excess amount of smoke being produced when the companies are burning brush and debris. Plumes of smoke settle in neighborhoods, forcing citizens to stay inside,” she explained.

She showed several photos of smoky conditions taken around her neighborhood. She said these conditions often persist for days.

“The solar industry is outpacing the research that is being done,” she continued. “There are no community benefits that we are aware of. The only ones who benefit are the land owners and utility companies.”

She concluded her part of the presentation by saying, “the landscape will never be the same. Years of solar panels, years of chemical use to keep down vegetation, years of human and animal exposure to ground and air contamination. It is a shame to leave such a devastating landscape and the issues it may cause to the future generations of Northampton County.”

The next part of the presentation was conducted by Debbie Davis, a farmer’s wife who lives in Seaboard. She talked about how solar facilities impact the local agricultural industry.

“We rely on the land for our livelihood. The land is a legacy passed down through generations,” she explained. “There are a significant number of farmers and farms that will lose the opportunity to lease farmland if our county continues to be inundated with solar farms.”

She named several Northampton County farmers as examples of families who will be affected.

“Lack of sufficient limits on solar farm expansion will diminish the ability of young farmers in this area to continue the family agricultural legacy,” she continued.

Davis also noted that some of the biggest businesses in Northampton County are agriculture-related, and what threatens the farmers will also threaten the economic vitality of the county.

And like Vincent, Davis also emphasized that the community is not benefiting from these solar facilities. She stated that local homes are not being powered by these local facilities. Instead, the power generated by some large solar farms – such as those located on Cornwallis Road and Bethel Church Road – are under a long-term contract between Dominion Energy and Facebook.

The last part of the presentation was made by Al Kwasikpui from Seaboard. He talked about the problems with decommissioning solar fields, and emphasized the importance of setting stricter regulations on solar farms.

“We’re coming before you this evening, not to complain, but as citizens to give input,” Kwasikpui explained.

First, he stated that the Center of Energy Education (C4EE), a nonprofit which is based in Roanoke Rapids, is not an impartial resource for information about solar energy because it was created by the solar company Geenex. The CEO of the company also serves as the Chair of C4EE’s Board.

Representatives from C4EE previously attended a Northampton County Commissioner meeting in January to talk about the benefits of solar energy.

Kwasikpui recommended the county seek guidance instead from an impartial environmental law firm on how to best update the county’s solar farm regulations while the moratorium is still in place.

He also talked about the costs associated with decommissioning solar farms, with some estimates saying it could be up to $250,000 per 1,000 acres.

“Recycling solar farm panels and material is not cost effective,” Kwasikpui stated. “And disposing of solar panels in landfills is not sustainable.”

He recommended the county add more regulations about decommissioning to their ordinance to ensure that the solar farm developers pay for the costs of decommissioning instead of leaving a site abandoned.

His other recommendations included limiting solar farm expansion to a set percentage of available agriculture and timber land, and adding prohibitions on burning debris from land clearing.

“There’s no meaningful financial benefit to Northampton County residents for unlimited expansion of solar farms,” he stated, noting that they don’t even bring in employment opportunities for local citizens.

“The decisions that you [commissioners] make are going to affect Northampton County for many years to come,” he concluded.

The commissioners did not have any questions or discussion following the presentation.

As previously reported by the Roanoke-Chowan News- Herald, Northampton County’s Board of Commissioners enacted a temporary moratorium on new solar farm construction beginning July 2024. It is set to end June 30, 2025.

The moratorium does not affect any solar farms that had already received a permit for construction beforehand.

During the moratorium period, the county’s Planning Board can conduct studies about solar facilities, gather more research, and recommend what ordinance changes, if any, should be made.

Northampton County previously enacted a moratorium on issuing solar farm permits from July 2021 to the end of April 2022.