Patrick County to consider solar application delay resolution
With all proposed solar projects in Patrick County officially off the table, the Patrick County Board of Supervisors will consider a resolution for a delay in future applications.
The Board will meet for a regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the Patrick County Administration Building to consider the matter.
In June, Administrator Beth Simms told the board that a 13.2-megawatt facility proposed in Woolwine had been withdrawn and in August she reported that Fairy Stone Solar, a 12-megawatt facility, that had been approved, had also been withdrawn.
Energix, headquartered in Israel with U.S. offices in Arlington, did not respond to the Bulletin for comment.
Patrick County resident Jamie Clark questioned the board why there was no public discussion on the withdrawal by Energix at the August meeting, asking if the proposed project was a dead issue or "if they can pick back up where the left off."
No one on the board offered any conversation during the meeting about what had been a contentious issue involving over a hundred residents who attended the meeting.
The only explanation on record appeared to come from Appalachian Power Co., when officials indicated an existing substation that would be fed by the Fairy Stone site was inadequate to accommodate the amount the facility would have produced, but previous discussion indicated that an expansion of the substation could rectify the potential problem.
With no other applications for consideration of utility-scale solar projects in Patrick County, the timing for issuing a resolution to delay the application process could be relevant.
Previously, the majority of the board members reluctantly gave their support for the Fairy Stone solar project primarily in fear the state might mandate the construction of a facility in an area less desirable to the county, if the county was not able to produce evidence it had previously approved commercial solar construction.
At last month's meeting, officials from RiverStreet Networks and Appalachian Power updated the board on nearly 900 locations that have been identified for construction in Patrick County through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). A completion date had not been determined, but is expected to be finished sometime late next year.
Amanda Cox, AEP external affairs manager, said installation of fiber through rough terrain is being done, but is moving slow due to the mountainous terrain.
As in Henry County, AEP is improving the electric grid along the way as the fiber is being installed, making the construction and installation a multi-tasked project. Crews had been pulled away and dispatched to North Carolina for restoration and recover efforts caused by Hurricane Helen, further delaying the efforts in Patrick County.
Build-out in the Stella community is less than 10% complete with construction set to begin at Stuart Willis Gap in February, Dobyns Road in April, and Elamsville, Pole Bridge Road, and the Meadows of Dan community in July.
When the project is complete, AEP intends to have installed 621 miles of new fiber in Patrick County, Cox said.
Bill Wyatt
(276) 591-7543
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