Developer says 7 Bridges solar project will conserve riverfront land and fund local energy-assistance; sheep grazing planned
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Summary
Long Road Energy updated supervisors on the 7 Bridges solar project and said it will conserve 250 acres along South Mahurin River, donate to local energy-bill assistance programs and explore sheep grazing to retain agricultural activity.
Long Road Energy told the Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors the 7 Bridges solar project — sited about three miles northeast of Chase City — will include a conservation commitment and local community benefits as the project moves toward permitting.
Cliff Sher, development director with Long Road Energy, said the company intends to conserve about 250 acres along the South Mahurin River and to partner with Evergreen (a conservation group active in the region) to place that land into a perpetual conservation mechanism focused on water quality and wildlife. Sher also said the company will make a donation to an energy-assistance program run by the Clarksville Ruritan Club to help local families pay utility bills.
Sher described plans to coordinate with local contractors and to seek opportunities to retain agricultural uses on the site after construction. Matt English, a local grazer with EZ Energy Solutions who works on solar sites, told the board he now grazes about 400 sheep across multiple solar projects and that grazing can be a compatible agricultural use under solar arrays. "In 2 years, we had 0 incidents, health issues, or anything," English said of his grazing operations and asked the county to consider the arrangement as a continued agricultural practice on project lands.
Why it matters: The commitments respond to local concerns about land-use change and water quality near the South Mahurin River, and the company's pledge to fund energy assistance aims to provide immediate community benefit while electricity from the project will flow into the regional grid.
Board direction: Sher said the developer supports the county's construction-traffic management plan and will work with staff to craft mitigation and conservation agreements as permitting proceeds.
