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Board approves 5 MW Edwards Solar farm with 35 conditions; two supervisors dissent
Summary
The Franklin County Board approved a special use permit for a 5-megawatt solar facility on about 38 acres, adding conditions on screening, stormwater, decommissioning and panel standards. The vote was 5–2, with Supervisors Mitchell and Smith opposing.
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors approved a special-use permit (SUP) for Edwards Solar, a proposed 5-megawatt photovoltaic project, after a public hearing and planning commission review. The board adopted the SUP with a series of conditions addressing site design, vegetation buffers, stormwater and a decommissioning plan.
The project applicant, CEP Solar, described the proposal as a distributed-generation project that will connect to the local Appalachian Power distribution circuit on Jacks Creek Road. Paul Cousins, CEP Solar project manager, told the board the plan covers approximately 38 acres with about 25 acres under panels and that the site benefits from dense existing vegetation. Don Giesick, CEP Solar director of planning initiatives, introduced the company team for the meeting.
Lisa Cooper (planning staff) summarized the planning commission’s review and relayed that the county’s third-party completeness review found no deficiencies. The planning commission recommended approval by a 7–0 vote and provided 35 conditions covering site-plan review, erosion and stormwater controls, bonding for decommissioning, vegetation and visual screening, safety coordination with Mountain Valley Pipeline and other standard conditions.
Company representatives and landowners spoke in support during the public hearing. Penny Edwards Blue and Ruby Penn, property owners whose families hold the land, said the parcel is not suitable for future farming and that the location is compatible with nearby industrial uses such as a quarry and asphalt plant. Reba Dillon and other residents also spoke, noting prior solar projects and urging the board to assess compatibility. Planning staff noted two letters of support were received prior to the hearing.
After discussion, a motion to approve the SUP with the planning commission’s recommended conditions and an added requirement that panels be silica-based (rather than cadmium-telluride technology) passed 5–2. The roll call shows Supervisors Jamieson, Carter, Quinn, Tatum and Chairman Thompson voted yes; Supervisors Mitchell and Smith voted no.
The SUP requires a site plan review and permits only up to 5 MW for the approved project footprint. Conditions require a detailed decommissioning cost estimate, a county-held bond large enough to cover full decommissioning (indexed for inflation and reviewed every five years), stormwater and erosion-control plans that meet current DEQ guidance, and a designated stormwater/erosion-control manager during construction. The project will not include on-site battery storage, CEP representatives said.
County staff will proceed with required site-plan and permitting steps and enter follow-up technical reviews with state agencies, the applicant said. The board’s action allows CEP Solar to continue permitting and engineering work required before construction.
