We, the undersigned, stand in strong opposition to the location and scale of Dominion Energy’s proposed 2,276 acres Pineside Solar utility-scale solar facility to be sited off Route 20 and Bridgeport Road.

Dominion’s proposed Pineside Solar utility-scale solar will impact our rural community and Buckingham County in many detrimental, irreversible ways, including:

-Adverse, long-term consequences on Sharps Creek, Little George Creek, the Slate River, the James River, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed,  wetlands and forests, and other natural resources on or neighboring the proposed site;

-Displacement of the area’s wildlife;

-Removal of hundreds of acres of timber from agricultural use which is in direct conflict with decarbonization efforts;

-Not in accord with the Comprehensive Plan of Buckingham County;

-Degradation of rural quality of life;

-Harms from living through construction 7 days a week (hours are earlier of sunrise or 6 am to sunset or 8 pm - Monday thru Sunday)

-Dangers on roads from thousands of truck deliveries and worker’s vehicles (Developer estimates 3,100 dump trucks and tractor trailers during construction period);

-A decrease in surrounding property values caused by the wrongful siting of this utility-scale operation in an agricultural and residential rural area;

-Lack of job creation / net loss of jobs;

-Concerns and costs related to the proper disposal of nearly 200,000 solar panels and the land being returned to its previous natural conditions at the end of the project;

-Concerns of water contamination to watershed and wells; and

As such, it is incumbent on the Buckingham County Planning Commission and Buckingham County Board of Supervisors to vote NO and refuse Domion Energy’s Pineside Solar application.

Solar projects in residential, agricultural, ecological-sensitive, and rural areas should not be permitted. Instead, low-conflict sites – such as brownfields, closed landfills, current and former industrial sites, parking lots, and commercial structures – should be identified and prioritized. Additionally, renewable energy companies must respect local zoning laws and protect natural resources including wetlands and forests, wildlife and birds, agricultural lands, rural view sheds, property values, and community values.

As renewable energy companies look to Buckingham County, Virginia as a potential site for utility-scale solar power installations, County officials must have a strategic, county-wide approach and metric for siting of utility-scaled renewable energy installations in place before advancing projects of such a massive scale. With such an approach and metric, we can avoid our agriculture, residential and rural-centric Buckingham County from becoming a patchwork of industrial-sized solar installations and the detrimental, decades-long impact they will have on area residents, local economies, natural resources and scenic view sheds.

In closing, we the undersigned request  Buckingham County Planning Commission and Buckingham County Board of Supervisors to take immediate action to preserve and protect our community’s high-quality agricultural soils and farm operations, natural resources, native birds and wildlife, scenic view sheds, and recreation by denying Dominion Energy’s permits to build the proposed 2,276 acres solar installation in Buckingham County, VA. 

Please join us in protecting the the character of our rural community and its many resources from being degraded for decades by this wrongly-sited, wrongly-sized industrial solar facility.