In the event that a developer wants to install a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) facility near you, consider yourself blessed with opportunities. You can shake up your assumptions about "clean, green" energy. You can learn how to present the technology's not-so-sunny sides so that neighbors and legislators who believe that solar PVs cannot possibly have problems"actually hear you.
With humility, you can insist that the developer and your county's planning department show you a professional engineer's report certifying that all of the project's hazards are mitigated.
Honestly, you might rather plant turnips or watch your child's ballgame, but you should learn where this solar facility's generated power will go, and if the array will connect to the grid.
If health and safety matter more to you than money"and you can suspend belief that solar PVs are renewable, safe and problem-free, proceed to Step 2: Get legal advice so that your county permits the facility only if your conditions are met.
Installation
Insist that the developer use only raw materials sourced from companies that can verify worker and environmental protections.
From installation to "decommissioning," the developer must carry liability insurance for the project"not self-insure.
How much water will the developer use during construction? Where will it come from? Where will wastewater go? To protect groundwater, will used construction water need treatment?
The developer must keep all soil on the site. Only 400 acres (say) of land can be disturbed at a time to prevent stormwater runoff. (A big rain after a clear-cut would result in disaster.) After clearing an area (i.e., of shrubs or trees) the developer must plant grass within X number of days in order to hold soil and prevent sediment run-off. The developer must set up stormwater basins.
Your county staff, planning commissioners (if so equipped) and board of supervisors will have to evaluate against their ordinance about stormwater runoff and sediment in waterways"and/or land use issues specific to your topography.
Operations
Panels hold chemicals, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs). In a hailstorm (say), panels can crack. Your county can require monthly soil testing in specified locations to ensure that no chemicals leak into the soil. If chemicals leach into soil, what will the developer do?
Solar panels are electrical equipment. All electrical equipment poses fire hazards. To reduce risk of fire, your county can specify how long grass (or other vegetation) can get before it must be cut.
If a fire does occur during the day, the solar panels will not stop collecting sunlight and converting it into electricity: you cannot de-energize solar panels. Firefighters cannot spray burning panels with water"because water conducts electricity, and water will not put out a solar panel fire. It can only cool it. At a public hearing in Spotsylvania, Virginia, the county's fire chief said he would not try to extinguish a solar PV fire. He would just hose down everything near it. In the event that the array catches fire, what is your county fire chief's plan?
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