The possibility of a new solar energy farm has brought differentiating opinions to Botetourt County, a predominantly rural community northwest of Roanoke. This solar farm would be built in Fincastle, according to WDBJ7 News. A proposal was brought to a planning committee on Monday, March 9 and was followed by a large public uproar.
WDBJ7 News took comments from Botetourt County residents, with some claiming this was an injustice to the community. One resident claimed the farm was “wealth distribution at the expense of the rural community”.
New Leaf Energy is the company that brought the proposal forward to the area. They host farms mostly on the east coast of the United States, but are rapidly growing across the entire country. Their proposal follows their regular “community scale solar energy program” that would allow the energy produced to be returned to the energy grid already in place in the area. WDBJ7 reports that it could power up to 1,000 homes. Residents would have to become members of the New Leaf Energy program in order to benefit from the farm.
Other citizens are concerned about the environmental impact of the panels, claiming they are known to leak toxic chemicals into the surrounding areas. Many agricultural farms lay adjacent to the proposed site and the possibility of heavy metal contamination proposes a high risk.
With the complexity of the situation, and the severity of public disapproval, the planning commission has decided to table the discussion and review the New Leaf proposal in their meeting in the summer.
This concern comes at an already confusing time for the Botetourt and Roanoke area, where the building of the new Google data center also in the Botetourt area has created uncertainty.
WSLS10 News recently reported that the center could pull anywhere between 2-8 million gallons of water a day from the Carvins Cove Reservoir. The Cove, which contains 6.42 billion gallons at its highest level, supplies water to northern Roanoke and Botetourt County. According to the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA), Carvins Cove Water Treatment Facility has the capacity to treat 28 million gallons of water daily.
Citizens are concerned that the data center will take away the certainty of water access from the community, as well as the concern that this will raise billing rates to compensate for the increase in demand.
The WVWA and Botetourt Board of Supervisors assures citizens that Google would be responsible for any infrastructure upgrade costs, but this does not stop public concern.
Those working on this project have stated that Google might need to pay for an additional water source in the area if demand becomes large enough by as early as 2030.
Many are upset by this, raising environmental concerns, but also complaining of the rapid growth. Botetourt is a slow-paced town, known for its rural atmosphere. The addition of numerous apartment complexes, industrial parks, data centers, and now solar farms disrupts that, and is leaving the generational residents with much to protest.
The Roanoke Times states that these are issues that are bringing together the community. The shared concern for the area that they love is joining together conservative farmers and liberal environmentalists in a new era of technological development.
Kara Hopkins
News Editor
