Agenda - 05-08-2014 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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/o storage of any materials on the site. As they stated, there is no noise associated with this. It is a fixed rack. We drive the post into the ground with a machine similar to what NCDOT uses to drive guardrail posts. Embedment depths range anywhere from three feet to eight feet, depending on soil conditions. This site - we can drive the post in approximately 3 to 4 days, so it's a very quick operation. From there, the racking — the underground begins. We do some underground trenching toward the inverters. The only overhead we do is when we interconnect to the utility once we've converted it to AC power and stepped up the voltage. So we have some underground going and the racking begins, and this is a progressive project; so, as one operation has started with the racking and it progresses to another area, in that area we can start to put the modules on the rack. So again, the material is staged and it's put right into use. The typical construction time from for this is anywhere from three to four months. We do have, you know, some clearing to do on this particular site; so it may take us a couple weeks longer to get through those trees. But it's about a four month process on a site like this for us, from the day that we show up to put the driveway in to the day that we stabilize the site. As they discussed, we will be grading this at the end, just to smooth everything out; prepare the bed for seed; and we will seed and straw this. We have typically been using Bermuda grass. That's what we hope to do. If not, it will be some other native grass that we can get to grow, hopefully. Mr. Harvey spoke to it. We do have some buffers proposed, and we will evaluate the potential to use the existing trees wherever possible; and if they don't satisfy the buffer requirements or if the species is not right, then we will plant the buffer per — I believe it's a type D land use buffer. So we have discussed this, and we are aware of it. This project generates almost no traffic, following construction. Everything is monitored remotely. Each inverter area — we can see down to the combinations of panels together, what's performing and what's not performing; so the maintenance is basically an as needed. So, it's monitored on the web. We can see when it's making power, when it's not making power, and we can tell which areas of the sites are a problem and do a lot of pre- diagnosis before we come out. Quite often, the most frequent trips for maintenance are actually the vegetation maintenance. So we take full responsibility for that and have that in house as well. We mow the grass. We trim the bushes — whatever is necessary for the farm — fertilize. So that's - it generates far less traffic than any single family home would, because there is no manned activity there on a daily basis. This project doesn't affect traffic obviously, because of that requirement. There is no noise associated with the project. There is no dust. There is no odor. There is no light reflection. The panels are designed to absorb the light, not reflect the light, so there is no glare. I spoke to the storm drainage. We will comply with the Orange County requirements. I believe that the location and character of this use is in harmony with the area in which it's located. It's a very low intensity, low impact development project. We have built many farms in this same type of environment. So, to summarize, it is my professional opinion, based on my experience as an engineer of record on many rural solar farm facilities in North Carolina and my familiarity with the proposal and its design, an establishment, maintenance and operation of the proposed solar farm will not be detrimental to endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare. It is also my professional opinion, based on the familiarity with this proposal and my review of the applicable provisions of the Orange County UDO, that the proposed solar farm facility meets all of the requirements of the UDO for issuance of the requested special use permit. I'll be happy to answer questions you may have. Dave Neill: Mr. Neiman, you know what I'm going to ask you. Are you familiar with this instrument? Brent Neimann: Yes, I am.