Citizens protest Byrdtown solar farm
Byrdtown resident William Griggs told Darlington County Council of his concerns over a planned solar power farm.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Several citizens addressed Darlington County Council at their October 3 regular meeting, asking for council to intercede and stop the construction of a 185-acre solar power farm in the Byrdtown community.
In April, solar power developer Innovative Solar LLC filed a permit request with the Darlington County Planning Commission to construct a facility on leased farmland in Byrdtown. The proposed large-scale solar farm would hold over 100,000 photovoltaic panels, changing the rural farming landscape so drastically that some residents would consider uprooting their families and moving away.
Resident William Griggs told council that he worried toxic chemicals like cadmium and mercury contained within the panels might leach into the soil, putting his family and others in danger. Griggs said he attended a September 6 meeting of the Planning Commission where Innovative Solar’s land development manager Lance Roddy and an environmental engineer working for the company tried to allay concerns.
“He used words like ‘probably not’ and ‘highly unlikely’ that it would affect the surrounding area. I can’t stake the health of my children on words such as that. For me and my family, if the solar panels come, we’ll be kicked out of our community. We’ll leave,” said Griggs.
Stephanie Howle said she grew up in the Byrdtown community and worries that the solar farm might negatively impact the environment and harm the peaceful landscape.
“It’s a quiet rural community where everybody knows everyone. You go on a Sunday afternoon drive to look at the farmland and see the crops growing. Now there’s a proposed solar farm. Many will sit on their porches with a cup of coffee to see the green groves and wildlife, but now their going to see the solar panels,” said Howle.
Nolan J. Johnson said the proposed farm would be located less than 700 feet from his front door.
“This is right in downtown Byrdtown, if there’s such a thing,” said Johnson, describing Byrdtown as a quiet community where families can raise children and crops. He worried that approving this solar farm might spark a trend where rural landowners lease their unused fields to energy development companies.
“One day, driving around the backroads of Darlington County… you’re not going to see cotton fields, corn fields, or soybean fields, but you’re going to see a hundred-thousand of these solar panels surrounded by chain link fence with barbed wire on it,” said Johnson.
Griggs wondered how durable the solar panels would be over time, whether they could withstand years of volatile weather, being pelted by hailstorms and rain and buffeted by wind. Howle voiced concerns over what sorts of chemicals the panels might release if they were damaged by a forest fire.
“They say these panels are sealed, but I don’t know if they can stand up to Mother Nature,” said Griggs. “Mother Nature is very abusive.”
At that September 6 Planning Commission meeting, Roddy said the photovoltaic panels used by Innovative Solar are designed within a sealed matrix built to endure hail, high winds, and lightning. Roddy said that his company, founded in 2011, has built over 30 similar solar farm projects over the past five years.
Innovative Solar’s business model – according to their website at www.innovativesolarsystemsllc.com– involves leasing land, developing a solar power collection site, and then selling that finished site to investors. Lionel Gilbert of Innovative Solar told the Planning Commission at a January 2016 meeting (regarding their Flinn’s Road solar project) that site owners are normally able to pay for all decommissioning costs by salvaging and selling panels, steel posts, and other construction components.
Citizen Hal Johnson showed council a petition signed by over 700 Darlington County residents who oppose the Byrdtown solar energy project. He noted that these signatures were collected in less than two months by going door to door and discussing the solar farm with community members. Johnson added that Innovative Solar is only the first solar energy developer to approach the county, and he worried that allowing this project to proceed without careful deliberation could lead to trouble in the future.
“This is only one investor, one land developer. Once they get everything in and start moving, you’re just opening up the gates for all the rest of them to come in. If we don’t have a tougher ordinance or we don’t make a stand now, it’s never gonna stop,” said Johnson.
More than a dozen solar farms are currently proposed for location in Darlington County, including the latest – a 36,000-panel installation applied for September 30 by Sustainable Energy Solutions of Charleston, which would locate across from the Hartsville Walmart.
Some Byrdtown residents also mentioned concern over the potential noise generated by such large installations. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, power inverters used at facilities producing over 100mw of energy produce a hum of around 60db (equivalent to a large air conditioner) as they collect power during daylight hours. Solar energy inverters should be inactive and silent between sundown and sunrise.
After all citizens had their say, some council members voiced support for their concerns and vowed that no quick decisions would be made.
“We’re going to look into this and I promise you we will not take this lightly,” said council member David Coker. “We definitely have to look into a decommission plan because we can’t be stuck with a problem thirty years from now.”
Coker observed that by the time any problems arise from the aged photovoltaic panels, the original landowners who leased to the solar farm will likely have passed away, and Innovative Solar would have long since sold the installation to investors. He also broached the idea that the county should help protect rural communities from unwelcome industrial development.
“We need to put these things in industrial areas, probably, and not in people’s yards,” said Coker.
Darlington County currently has no comprehensive zoning ordinance, and therefore cannot forbid power plants, factory farms, or any other industries from locating in residential communities if those businesses obtain all the necessary permits and clearances from state authorities and the county’s Planning Commission.
The county can, however, place requirements on businesses that must be met prior to issuance of construction permits. To this end, council held a title-only first reading on Ordinance 16-19, amending some of the language in the county’s renewable energy systems development code.
Changes include requiring a solar farm applicant to submit a decommissioning plan detailing how all panels, buildings, cables, and electrical components will be disposed of; this decommissioning plan would kick in after six continuous months of no energy production, and the permit holder would have six months to completely clear and restore the site.
Additionally, solar farms are to be set back 100 feet from property lines, 50 feet from the right of way, and 500 feet from the nearest residence, unless given permission by adjoining property owners to locate closer.
The amendment also requires a “continuous vegetative buffer” be installed around the perimeter of solar or wind farms. The buffer must contain two staggered rows, measure at least three feet high at planting, and reach ten feet in height within three years.
Council member Le Flowers asked to convene a meeting between members of council and representatives from SC DHEC and/or the EPA to learn more about the potential long-term issues involved with solar farms. This work session should take place within the next two weeks, giving council and the Planning Commission time to make more informed deliberations before construction permits are issued for the Byrdtown solar farm project.
Our website has three videos embedded for viewers to see and hear, posted on our YouTube channel:
William Griggs –
Hal Johnson –
David Coker –