Runoff from solar farms causing problems in rural Georgia

Solar farming is becoming a significant industry in Georgia, and like most significant industries, it has environmental implications, perhaps ironic for an industry promoted by environmentalists.

"Huge solar farms of up to 1,000 acres are being built on the region’s sandy soil, which is particularly vulnerable to erosion of sediment caused by runoff from solar panels," reports Dave Williams of Capitol Beat, citing testimony by James Cooley of Georgia's Environmental Protection Division to the state House's Rural Development Council meeting in Americus.

Families and local governments in Georgia have embraced solar farms as a way to increase income, but most of them are not experienced in overseeing such large construction projects, Cooley told Williams: "Local governments, which play a major role in the permitting of construction sites, typically deal with small sites such as Dollar Generals and aren’t used to such large projects."

"House lawmakers and other officials attending the meeting on the campus of Southwest Georgia State University were surprised and dismayed by what they heard from Cooley," Williams reports. Jason Shaw, a member of the state Public Service Commission, Georgia’s energy-regulating agency said, “[What] we don’t want to be known for in Georgia is a clean-energy state that has caused our rivers to become dirty." Williams writes, "Shaw said counties where utilities are looking to locate solar farms should adopt model ordinances governing permitting requirements to make sure applicants have plans for handling runoff."

Jeff Clark, president and CEO of the Advanced Power Alliance, a Texas-based renewable energy trade association, noted that "large-scale solar power developers typically include 'decommissioning' requirements in their contracts with utilities that include commitments to remediate solar farm sites after their useful lives and recycle the metal from used solar panels," Williams reports. Clark said the industry needs to guard its community relationships as long-term partnerships.