Solar project affects area families

To the editor:

There is a proposal before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that will affect Martin County, specifically Rutland Township. This is a proposal for a 1,000+ acre solar farm that will be located approximately 125 feet from my front door on Charlotte Oak Drive, on the east side of Charlotte Lake. It will go east to Highway 15 and north to Northrop. The solar farm will include a 16 acre BESS.

BESS is an acronym for Battery Energy Storage Station, a rechargeable battery system that collects energy from different sources like wind and solar. That will be 16 acres of lithium phosphate iron batteries. Look it up online.

Families living on Charlotte Lake are concerned about the environmental effects this will impose on the lake. What is the potential of toxic runoff, increased water temperature, and will the farmland be able to be restored after the usefulness of the solar farm expires? And then there is the human factor such as electromagnetic, audio, visual, view, light, noise, radio interference, or other effects attributable to the project.

The project manager assured me they, (the project company/landowners), want to be on good terms and welcomed by county, towns, and townships in the area. However he wasn’t able to relate how this would benefit them. The local and state government representatives all gave us the same answer when asked about the project, “We can’t do anything about it.” It makes me wonder who is in charge. I guess it must be the PUC.

There will be a time for public comment directly to the PUC about this and I hope the county residents, Fairmont and Northrop families, and especially Rutland township people take the time to check into more about this and make their voices heard.

Debbie Wallace

Fairmont