DUNMOR, Ky. (WEHT) — Muhlenberg neighbors are reacting to a solar farm proposal in the Penrod-Dunmor area. Several neighbors say they learned about the plan on social media, and are making plans to attend a public meeting at the end of the month.
Lost City Renewables LLC. wants to develop a 250-mega watt solar farm in Muhlenberg County. If approved, the development will sit 0.4 miles east of Penrod and 1.25 miles northeast of Dunmor.
Officials say solar panels and their racking systems, electric equipment and underground electrical connection lines will stretch across 1,300 acres of land. In exchange, the company says people will get clean energy and economic growth..
People say they are concerned about losing their agricultural land and their health.
23-year-old Kassidy Cobb lives less than a mile from the development site on her family farm.
“I don’t think that they are green energy when they omit electromagnetic fields that cause dizziness, nausea and fatigue and even cancer. That’s quite frightening to me,” says Cobb.
“There’s going to be a lot of questions wrote down for them to answer things…they’re backing up to our property. To the point where if they’re going to do it, they might as well just get ready to buy us out,” says Wynona Valentine, who lives nearby.
A public meeting held at Penrod Missionary Baptist Church on Oct. 29 will allow them to share those concerns. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the meeting will operate similar to an open house, and people will be able to come and go as they please.
Cobb has been going door to door to inform people and has also gotten around 150 petition signatures. She’s also built a website for the cause.
“No one had come around…officials hadn’t posted it had just been listed on Facebook. So, it was quite shocking to me. What’s highly concerning is that the people I’ve talked to had no clue…before I reached out to them about this,” says Cobb.
In a statement shared by Muhlenberg Judge-Executive Mack McGehee stated:
“Currently Tennessee Valley Authority is conducting an environmental impact study of the purposed site. The time frame I was given is 2 to 3 years before construction would begin depending on site approval from TVA. I will be meeting with company representatives within the next few weeks to receive more information on the [proposed] project.”
Despite this statement, TVA officials say they are not currently conducting an environmental impact study and do not yet have a purchase contract with lost city renewables.
Eyewitness News reached out to Judge-Executive McGehee for more information, but have not received a response.
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