Daily Journal file photo
These are the solar panels at the County Homes solar facility, which began operations in November 2018.
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ROCKINGHAM — An Asheville-based renewable energy company is planning a major solar farm project that county officials expect will bring in $65 million of investment to Richmond County.
Pine Gate Renewables, LLC is buying land owned by Z.V. Pate, LLC, one of the largest landowners in Richmond County, along the U.S. 74 bypass where the solar farm will be built. The Richmond County Planning/Zoning Board of Adjustments approved the project at their Nov. 9 meeting, at which Z.V. Pate was represented by the company’s president, Hew Fulton, and Gene McLaurin, president of Quality Oil, which is a subsidiary of Z.V. Pate.
Tom Terrell, a partner with the law firm Fox Rockschild, LLP, who represented Pine Gate and its subsidiary, Juno Solar, LLC, at the Nov. 9 public hearing, said that this project, along with a “sister” site in Scotland County, will produce enough energy to provide 80,000 homes in the region with clean energy.
Terrell described Pine Gate as a company with “a demonstrated track record of working with and supporting host communities.” Juno Solar, which has its principal office in El Segundo, CA, signed its articles of organization in October 2020.
“We held two widely-advertised neighborhood community meetings with good attendance at each,” Terrell said in an email. “All neighbors were welcoming, and our most common question was whether Pine Gate might be interested in expansion to their property.”
Terrell said that energy cost savings will be spread across Duke Energy’s service area, so it’s not clear at this stage how much energy customers will save as a result of this new addition of solar panels to the area. He explained in an email that Duke acquires solar energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with solar developers. These PPAs have a flat pricing that creates stability in the electricity markets, he said, though he could not speak to the specifics of the PPA associated with the project in question.
“Richmond and Scotland County residents can know that a much higher percentage of their energy will be coming from clean and renewable sources, but the exact amount is difficult to measure, and it changes daily,” Terrell said. “Because costs of production are spread over Duke Energy’s regulated footprint, identified cost savings are spread across the same footprint. What can be said about costs is that Duke’s production costs will not spike and be passed along to consumers as a result of solar.”
Neither Terrell nor County Planning Director Tracy Parris responded when asked which county parcel the project will be built on. The timeline for construction of the project is also unclear.
McLaurin confirmed that it will be built along the U.S. 74 bypass. Z.V. Pate owns many properties around the county, including several near the bypass.
By acquiring the property, the Pine Gate will be paying much higher taxes to the county than Z.V. Pate was, according to Terrell. Fulton declined to comment on what Pate was using the property for prior to discussions with Pine Gate.
County Manager Bryan Land said in an email that, based on an outline of the project he had reviewed, the project stands to bring in $65 million of investment to the county.
“Solar projects provide great tax base to our County without placing additional strains on our existing infrastructure,” Land said.
The county’s zoning ordinances related to solar collection facilities stipulates that the minimum acreage for a ground-mounted solar collection system is 10 acres. The property used for solar production must have either a naturally wooded area or planted vegetation between it and any adjacent property that is zoned for residential use or is a public right-of-way.
Additionally, if the solar production facility were to be abandoned, the owners would be required to ensure that the remaining infrastructure does not create a hazard to the public. If operations cease or construction is not completed, the owners must notify the county immediately in writing and decommission the site within six months by removing all structures and equipment, thus restoring the site to its original condition.
The county requires that the owners develop an action plan with Emergency Services and local fire departments in the event of an emergency.
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Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2673 or [email protected]
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Planned solar farm to bring in $65M, county says - Richmond County Daily Journal
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