DARLINGTON, SC (WBTW) – For several months now Darlington County residents and officials have been weighing the pros and cons when it comes to bringing solar farms into the county.
The 60-acre site on Billy Farrow Highway in Darlington is the first of its kind to be ready to go, and Wednesday County Council and Planning Commission members wanted to learn more about how solar farms work on a daily basis.
Members donned their hard hats, piled into vans, and drove back into the solar farm Wednesday. The 10-megawatt power station is home to over 40,000 3×6-foot solar panels. Staff at the farm said the panels create enough energy on a sunny, clear day to power as many as 2,000 homes.
“Solar is an extremely safe and effective way of producing power,” said Jason Groenewold, vice-president of business development for Pine Gate Renewables, the company that owns the station.
Groenewold led the tour through the facility Wednesday. Once everyone was safely inside, Groenewold did his best to answer the group’s questions about solar energy. Council members made sure to address several of the public’s concerns expressed over the past few months. First, how much noise does a solar farm make?
“We were having a normal conversation just like we’re having here standing next to what would be the loudest part of the facility,” Groenewold said.
“Now we’ll install vegetation around the site so it’ll really be a quiet, effective facility from here on out.”
There is one home near the site, and according to the staff, the neighbors haven’t had any complaints so far about the farm in their backyard.
Council members also asked about a decommissioning plan, meaning if the companies leave the county, who would be saddled with the clean-up cost?
“There’s a lot of money that’s invested in them, and therefore a lot of interest in seeing them last a long time and operate well,” Groenewold explained. “So I don’t think we need to overreact or have burdensome regulations or really expensive bonding requirements.”
The Planning Commission is still making considerations on the renewable energy ordinance including decommissioning and proximity to homes. Commissioners hope to have that ordinance in writing and sent to council in the next month.
As for the Billy Farrow solar farm, staff said it should be fully operation in as little as one week.