Agenda - 09-18-2012 - 6b - Laserfiche WebLink

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75 Phillip Post: Let me start with the power lines that it will hook up to. As you know, White Cross Road municipal Duke Power lines are on the west side right here, along the edge of the right-of- way. So that's the existing power line, the Duke Power line that's been there for many years. The collection line that will be much, much smaller and it will be tied into these five west points here that I've pointed out to you, will be underground wires that run to an overhead line that will be right on our fence line. So it will not be in the green area, but it will be right along this area here and it will tie into a Duke Power pole right there. So, it's inside the 75-foot type E buffer, and it's inside our fence. It will be basically what we call single-phase lines where it will just have two wires on a short pole. It will be fed by underground lines and feed into the Duke Power line. Commissioner Gordon: I just want to have you explain again about the trees along the road that you're saying you cannot see. Phillip Post: The 75-foot type E buffer will be composed of the existing vegetation. The only penetration will be just our one single driveway right here. Otherwise, there will be no disturbance of the 75-foot buffer. We believe that the buffer, which is composed of large trees, we believe that the spacing of the vegetation will keep the arrays unseeable. It's much shorter than even the shortest amount of vegetation. Mark Marcoplos: Speaking about the issue of the view, it sounds like it is considered undesirable to see. Phillip Post: I haven't considered that. It's happens at our houses and our businesses and they're pretty innocuous. These are low to the ground, seven feet high at the most, so they're not gigantic things. They absorb the sunlight, so they don't reflect anything. Being very innocuous, they don't create any noise or any humming. They are only working when the sun is shining, and of course when the sun is down, there is absolutely nothing going on there. Mark Marcoplos: It seems like there might even be some benefits for being able to see it a little bit, for public education. Phillip Post: I think that's true. I think it's an advantage for folks to know about what's happening in the County. Rich Kirland: My name is Rich Kirkland, I've been duly sworn in. I've been appraising in the Triangle area for the last 16 years and grew up in the area. What I have found is that there is no information out there that suggests any kind of negative impact. The standard criteria would be any kind of noise, site detriment, any kind of odor, and there's nothing along those lines on any of these properties associated with solar power. As far as the site goes, even if you could see it, it looks remarkably similar to greenhouse type of uses, which don't have a negative impact. To that end, around this property the uses are either agricultural, vacant land, and a mobile home park. Andrea Rohrbacher: I'm not sure if this is the appropriate time to ask this question, but the plan talks about the power generator being sold to Duke Power. What if there were a future purchase or acquisition with respect to Duke Power company and the new owner was no longer interested in purchasing this power? What would happen?