The Gloucester County Planning Commission unanimously voted to forward conditional use permit applications for two solar facility projects, Fox Mill Solar and Daffodil Fields Solar, with recommendations for approval to the Board of Supervisors during its monthly meeting held last Thursday in the T.C. Walker Education Center auditorium.
The CUP to create Fox Mill Solar was applied for by Joseph Fary, Pearfield Land & Timber, LLC, and Hexagon Energy. The property is located on the west side of Fary’s Mill Road and is zoned rural countryside (RC-1). The total parcel is 245 acres, but only 50 acres are proposed to be used for solar. Surrounding uses for the property include residential, agricultural, forested and undeveloped.
Farin Woods, LLC, John O’Connor and Hexagon Energy applied for the Daffodil Fields Solar CUP. The property is zoned RC-1 and is currently forested land used for commercial timber. Like Fox Mill Solar, the property is also located on the west side of Fary’s Mill Road and is surrounded by forested, residential, agricultural and undeveloped land uses. The total parcel is 523 acres with 50 also planned for solar development.
“They’re close in location to each other along Fary’s Mill Road,” said Sean McNash of Gloucester Planning & Zoning.
The solar farms are estimated to generate about 6 megawatts of utility-scale solar energy each through ground-mounted, rotating solar arrays, which will be uploaded to the energy grid through interconnection points located across the street from the sites’ entrance to an existing power line along Fary’s Mill Road. They will be able to power about 1,000 homes apiece.
Portions of each site contain wetlands, which will require stormwater management features. A 75-foot continuous perimeter buffer around the projects will be installed. Security fencing around the paneling will also be included.
The three people who spoke during public comment were in favor of the solar farms.
“Leasing land for solar helps preserve open space and maintain a rural character of the community,” said Seth Cogbill, community engagement representative for Energy Right, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on clean energy advocacy.
“Keeping land at a low-impact use rather than seeing it converted into subdivided housing developments or other large-scale development projects seems more in line with the county’s comprehensive plan, he said.”
“Using this small area of currently nonproductive land for solar panels is an excellent use of the property at this time,” wrote-in Susan Finkel of the Petsworth District. “It presents neither danger nor nuisance to humans, nor the resident wildlife since there are literally hundreds of additional acres surrounding it and the area will be fenced in.”
“The offer that Hexagon has won’t make us rich, but it certainly will stop the need for us to sell this at any point in time,” said Daffodil Farms co-applicant John O’Connor. He and his two daughters own the property.
The planning commission members also viewed the projects positively.
“This seems to be a pretty good development as far as the solar developments go, fairly limited impact,” said planning member Chris Poulson about Fox Mill Solar. “It’s not real visible to the public and it seems like a good project.”
“I think they’re located well,” agreed commissioner Doug Johnson.
The planning commission voted 5-0-2 to recommend approval for the projects. John Meyer and Kenneth Richardson were absent during the meeting.