As a resident of The Ridings, I feel disgusted that Sussex County Council approved the application for the construction of the Saddle Ridge solar farm that is surrounded on three sides by The Ridings, a 225-home development.
This solar farm, in reality an electricity manufacturer, will place more than 4,000 panels, some of which are less than 80 feet from the residents' properties. Their backyards have swimming pools, jungle gyms and other amenities. We are not an over-55 community. We have children.
Most concerning is the fact that these panels will be placed on land that suffered a flood as recently as 2009. Pictures memorializing the flood water by the Cape Gazette evidenced the problem for all to see. The water flowed directly down to The Ridings property, requiring a canoe to travel from homes (and the future panels’ location) to Beaver Dam Road.
Now there is grass growing in the area of the solar farm. The hardening materials used under the panels will compound significantly more flooding. This nuisance will result in flooding even with less-severe storms.
The State of Delaware’s laws are based on an obligation to protect citizens' health and welfare. It is a pity that three of our council's members failed to do so in the face of past flooding and other harmful effects that were listed at length in the documents presented to council and on the record. We applaud Sussex County Council Vice President John Rieley and Councilman Mark Schaeffer for upholding their obligation to protect the residents' health and safety in voting to reject the application.
We await the solar farm's amendment to include batteries. The panels are a fire hazard, but batteries are many times more dangerous. I believe the electrical grid in their most recent application is full. This is evident by Delmarva Power's refusal to allow rooftop solar panels. Batteries are their only answer. I was updated by an expert in the field that power produced that cannot be immediately utilized by a utility is wasted. It is interesting to note that Delmarva Power does not have battery storage – too dangerous. Firemen now simply watch as EV cars/electric bikes that catch fire burn out. They are powerless to put them out. Imagine the conflagration resulting in 4,000-plus cells, 180 feet from our homes.
I had only five months to collect information, unlike the applicant who has the backing of Big Solar. It was difficult to get unbiased information on the problems because millions of dollars support the solar narrative in the U.S. With so little time, I found reports of flooding, fire, glare, increased heat in the summer, decreased warmth in the winter, health issues from the harm of electromagnetic fields, decline in property values, etc.
What I do know is that the applicant cannot produce a current solar farm that is near a development.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
