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Residents, VCHR warn of environmental risks from proposed Buckhorn Mountain Solar; commission asks attorney to draft ordinance
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Summary
A VCHR presentation and citizen comments raised concerns about a proposed 16.5 MW, 465‑acre Buckhorn Mountain Solar project and use of cadmium‑telluride panels; the commission requested County Attorney Chase Collins draft a proposed solar ordinance and will forward recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.
At the Jan. 10 meeting the commission heard a presentation from the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights and multiple residents raising environmental and land‑use concerns about the proposed Buckhorn Mountain Solar project.
Jim Best of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights presented a slide show describing a proposed 16.5‑megawatt plant on roughly 465 acres along Route 61 (between Tazewell and Gratton) proposed by Buckhorn Mountain Solar, LLC with Blue Ridge Energy Services, LLC listed as landowner and Energix Renewable Energies identified as parent company. Best said the proposal would use approximately 44,680 panels made with cadmium‑telluride (CdTe) and argued CdTe is a toxic heavy metal that could pose leakage risks to rivers, streams and farmland; he also told the commission that Energix had faced rejections and E & S violations in other Virginia counties, according to his presentation.
Director of County Engineering Kenneth Dunford said the project had been filed with the Department of Environmental Quality but that Tazewell County had not issued any county application or permit for the project. Chairperson Ann Robinson and other commissioners said the county lacks a solar ordinance to provide clear local standards and asked County Attorney Chase Collins to draft a proposed Solar Ordinance for the commission to forward as a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Dunford noted the county is a participant in the SolSmart program; commissioners discussed topics they would like covered in a local ordinance including landowner education, maintenance responsibilities and decommissioning requirements.
Several residents spoke during citizen comments: James Durham raised concerns about headwaters and potential impacts on the Clinch River; Connie Kitts urged landowner education and stewardship; Kathy McClanahan warned about potential cleanup responsibilities and impacts to water resources; Bill Bunch said he supports solar generally but not contamination of farmland. No developer representative spoke during the meeting and the commission took no formal action on the project itself at this meeting.
The commission’s request that the county attorney draft a solar ordinance begins a formal local policy response; any ordinance would require additional drafting, review, and public hearings before adoption by the Board of Supervisors.