Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
7 <br />H. Statement in Support of Application <br />A The use will maintain or promote the public health safety and general welfare, if <br />located where proposed and developed and operated according the plan as submitted. <br />The proposed solar farm will not materially affect the public health or safety. Access to <br />the site will be from an existing private gravel drive onto White Cross Road. The site will <br />generate virtually no traffic. The solar facility will not be staffed daily. Employees are <br />expected to visit the property weekly or less frequently to check and maintain the <br />equipment, mow the grass and make repairs. Two gravel parking spaces will be provided <br />for employee use. The active area of the solar farm will be enclosed by a six foot (6') <br />high fence and gated for security purposes. Access codes to the gate will be provided to <br />local emergency service providers. Vehicular access to the site is adequate for the use <br />proposed and for emergency services. <br />There will be no buildings or employees on the property so there is no need for sewage <br />disposal facilities or water on the site. <br />The proposed solar fann will protect against soil erosion and sedimentation. Care is taken <br />to minimize grading on the site by hand setting poles to support the solar cells. The areas <br />beneath the solar panels will be planted with grass or alfalfa to stabilize the site. During <br />construction, erosion control measures will be maintained in accordance with the County <br />regulations and the site will comply with County stormwater regulations. All <br />environmental buffers will be maintained and respected. <br />B The use will maintain and enhance the value of contiguous property (unless the use is <br />a public necessit y, in which case the use need not maintain or enhance the value of <br />contiguous property). <br />The proposed use will maintain and enhance the value of contiguous properties. Solar <br />farms are virtually silent. The solar arrays proposed have no moving parts. The only <br />sound is the quiet hum of electrical transformers, invertors and substation that deliver the <br />solar power to the power grid. Similar facilities are located in neighborhoods to deliver <br />power to homes. At night, when the sun is not available, there is no energy being created <br />and no noise on the site. Solar farms generate far fewer vehicles trips than one average <br />single- family home. Employees visit the site once a week or even less frequently. Solar <br />panels are designed to absorb light, rather than reflect it. <br />Solar energy is a public necessity. Demand for electricity has increased exponentially in <br />recent years and our society is dependent upon conventional sources of power such as <br />coal, gas, nuclear and hydro energy. Conventional sources of electricity are expensive, <br />finite resources that require significant environmental disruption and public safety risk to <br />maintain or extract. Solar energy is a clean, cheap, unlimited resource with little <br />