In recent weeks, we’ve reported that a company is planning to build a solar farm near the Sano and Mount Olive communities in the northern part of Russell County.
Round Trip LLC is proposing to construct and operate a solar and battery energy project in the area. The proposed solar park will be located on 450 acres in these communities.
As the company has reached out to property owners in the area, several local residents have come together to form a group known as Russell Countians Against Industrial Solar.
Cameron Tiller is a property owner in the area, and a member of the group. He told WJRS News if the solar farm goes in as planned, his property would be nearly surrounded by large solar panels.
Tiller said this project would adjoin a previously-planned solar project, known as the Mount Olive Solar Project by Carolina Solar. Together, the two projects would encompass between 900 and 1,000 acres of land.
With that much land being occupied as part of these solar projects, Sano and Mount Olive wouldn’t be the only communities impacted. The Webbs Crossroads and Bottoms Road areas could also be impacted.
Tiller said the group has multiple areas of concern regarding the industrial solar project.
He expanded more on the concerns around agriculture in the area.
One of the biggest concerns, though, is around the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) aspect of this proposed project. These storage systems carry a fire risk, and the fires can be notoriously difficult to extinguish. Fires from these systems are also known to release toxic chemicals into the air.
Such an incident occurred back in January at a BESS site in northern California. The fire at the facility led to an evacuation order for nearly 1,500 nearby residents due to the fire and concerns about toxins in the air.
After the evacuation order was lifted, residents near the facility were told by local officials to avoid running their air conditioning and keep their windows closed.
Tiller said there are concerns about what an industrial solar project like this looks like long-term. He said he’s been to other rural communities where many local residents left town after large-scale industrial solar projects came in.
He also referenced the Bicentennial video released earlier this year and said he and others are concerned large-scale industrial solar projects like this can “erode the fabric of local communities.”
Tiller said the group isn’t against solar energy as a whole, but said there are better ways to utilize it than through these industrial solar projects on farmland.
The petition for the Russell County Fiscal Court to place a moratorium on industrial solar and battery energy storage systems has nearly 500 signatures. Tiller said the moratorium would allow time for local officials and members of the community to consider the long-term impacts of a project like this. The group is also advocating for an ordinance regarding these type of projects.
You can find the petition here.
The Russell County Fiscal Court will meet on Monday at 10 a.m. at the Russell County Courthouse.
The full interview with Tiller discussing concerns about the solar project will be available soon.
