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9 <br />STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE BOARD OF <br />COMMISSIONERS AND PLANNING <br />BOARD <br />COUNTY OF ORANGE <br />IN RE: White Cross Solar, LLC- Solar Array- Public Utility <br />Orange County PIN: 9748 32 0786 <br />Address: White Cross Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina <br />NOW COMES THE PETITIONER, by and through counsel of record, and respectfully <br />requests approval of their application for a special use permit to operate a Solar Array - <br />Public Utility. In support of this request, Petitioner provides the following information: <br />I. Introduction <br />White Cross Solar, LLC proposes to construct a solar array - public utility on 35.8± acres <br />of land owned by William and Carol Byron. The property is located on White Cross <br />Road near its intersection with Old Greensboro Road. The property is currently zoned <br />Agricultural Residential (AR). Adjacent properties are developed as homes, a church, a <br />recreational area and farms. Adjacent properties are also zoned Agricultural Residential <br />(AR). <br />An overarching theme of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan is a desire to create a <br />sustainable future. In Chapter 1, the Plan Overview, the Orange County Comprehensive <br />Plan states that "...we must seek to develop a community that meets the needs of the <br />present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their <br />needs." This solar farm fulfills the County's goal to reduce dependence on fossil fuels <br />and nuclear power and turn to a sustainable form of energy generation. <br />The solar array- public utility will contain rows of Photovoltaic (PV) cells mounted on <br />posts set in the ground individually in an effort to minimize the amount of grading on <br />site. These rows of PV cells are referred to as "solar arrays." The solar arrays will be <br />fixed in place facing south in order to receive the maximum amount of solar energy. This <br />configuration contains no moving parts. The power generated from the solar farm will be <br />sold to Duke Power Company for use by Orange County and consumers in place of <br />power produced by non- sustainable means. <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 />