CHESTERTOWN — On July 11, there will be a public hearing at the county courthouse for an issue lying dormant for two years, the construction of a solar panel farm on Morgnec Road.
Urban Grid is located in the central portion of Kent, east of Chestertown. If all goes to the company’s plan, Morgnec Solar LLC owned by Urban Grid will interconnect to the power grid via an existing Delmarva Power Substation adjacent to the project site.
The State recently approved of the project against County and Chestertown’s wishes.
Urban Grid’s website lists the benefits of a solar field.
“The project will yield significant Real Property Tax revenue for Kent County for a lifetime.”
And it lists the environmental benefits.
The project poses “no material impact to the wetlands, cultural resources or threatens any endangered species.”
Architect Tom Kocubinski and chair of the Kent County Conservation and Preservation Alliance Janet Christensen-Lewis would beg to differ.
Kocubinski explained, “It’s 140,000 solar collectors. That’s a mile long.”
He noted the land they want to build on is historic.
Not only do they disapprove, he added, but also the Kent County Commissioners did when the issue came up roughly two years ago.
On Feb. 1, 2022, at their regular meeting, the Commissioners had joined Kent Conservation and Preservation Alliance in an appeal of the Public Service Commission’s approval of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the Morgnec Road Solar project.
And Chestertown was not on board either. Mayor David Foster didn’t see it as a suitable location at the time since eastward is their only direction to expand.
Foster said, “While we normally welcome solar power, the Town also opposed that solar project because it was right in the middle of our only real opportunity for expansion of Chestertown.”
Kocubinski and others thought then the issue was settled. However, a year ago a judge approved of the project, awakening the two heated sides of the issue.
Those for the project say that these solar panels will save money, will allow them to “think globally while living locally.” They say that it will boost the economy bringing revenue to a county desperate for it.
Opponents to this claim that solar panel energy is not as green as once thought.
The solar panels utilize numerous rare earths — cobalt, nickel, cadmium, lithium, vanadium, graphite — whose mining techniques damage the environment.
Also, once in operation the solar field will be controlled from a distance not by people in the county.
The sun also has obvious limitations, and the panels even need backup generators to keep it going that could costs the county rather than save it money.
Instead of a solar farm of one mile frontage on Morgnec Road with a screening wall, KCPA proposes an alternative of berm, trees, shrubs, and pedestrian amenities like a footpath.
All of this will most likely be discussed on July 11. To see how the public decides, Kocubinski encouraged residents to be there for the meeting beginning at 1:30 p.m.
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