Solar Project Faces Pushback

A small but vocal group of Orange County residents attended an informational community meeting Thursday, Sept. 7, standing in opposition to a proposed solar project in the vicinity of Mayhurst Lane.

The meeting was held at Prospect Heights Middle School by ESA Solar, a Florida-based company that, under the name Orange Road Solar Farm LLC, has submitted an application to Orange County for a special use permit to construct a solar farm up to 35 acres in size.

The property in question is currently zoned agricultural and is owned by Steroben Associates LLC, one of a handful of companies registered at 221 Byrd St. in Orange to H.B. Sedwick III. Adjacent properties include the historic Mayhurst estate, Prospect Heights Middle School and one residential parcel. The Mayhurst Lane project is one of two solar farm SUP proposals currently listed on the county website; the other application, for a property on Monrovia Road in Orange, has been submitted by a separate solar company.

Approximately 50 community members showed up to the informational session, including Jason and Casey Cashell, owners of the Mayhurst estate, which sits just outside of the town of Orange limits near Route 15 and now houses a bed-and-breakfast. According to Jason Cashell, he and his wife had not been notified regarding the proposed project until the day before the meeting, a claim which ESA Solar Chief Operational Officer Justin Vandenbroeck admitted to and apologized for during the meeting.

Concerns voiced by Cashell and others ranged from potential business losses to environmental impact and the historical significance of the property. According to the application narrative submitted to the county, a historical and cultural resource study was conducted in October 2022 by Headwater Environmental, which concluded that there were “no archaeological sites recorded either in the project tract or within a 0.5-mile radius, however that the project tract is extremely sensitive regarding cultural resources.”

“We are here tonight out of concern that this solar field is going into and surrounding a national historical landmark, and also a vibrant business that has supported the community and the county for decades,” Jason Cashell said. “It basically wraps around us and it's also on a steep incline, so soil erosion is a problem. At the foot of the hill is a natural spring that feeds into multiple rivers, so that's a concern as well — and the fact that we just found out about it yesterday.”

Incidentally, the same property was involved in a mudslide this week that flowed off the property and temporarily restricted access to the PHMS parking lot Monday morning following a night of heavy rain. Virginia Tech Northern Piedmont Center Manager Greg Lillard said that while he was not aware of the specific incident, runoff is a common occurrence in the event of excessive rainfall, adding that the area received approximately 2.8 inches of precipitation from the storm.

Environmental mitigation strategies that were cited by ESA during the meeting include using a fixed tilt system to eliminate grading, planting vegetative buffers to minimize visual impact and having an end-of-life recycling plan in place for the panels themselves.

The application by ESA lists tax revenue as one of the primary potential benefits of the project. According to the applicant, the project is estimated to produce $1.2 million in tax revenue over a 40-year period based on an $11.7 million assessed property value.

To view the entire application and related documents, visit www.orangecountyva.gov/1083/SUP-23-06-ESA-Solar. The application is currently in the early stages of review and will require public hearings by both the Orange County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, to be announced at a later date.

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