Texas just surpassed California as the state with the most solar panel farms, and new farms are popping up all over the Lone Star State.
However, the construction of a solar power plant on the outskirts of Bandera has met with great resistance from residents.
When completed, the Rio Lago solar project will provide enough electricity to power 22,800 homes. But the company building the solar farm is currently fighting in federal court over claims by residents that runoff from the site is polluting the site and killing wildlife.
We first reported on the conflict in March, when a group of property owners in Bandera tried to block workers from clearing land for a solar farm.
“It’s going to be horrible. It’s going to be noisy, it’s going to be ugly, and no one is going to want to buy here,” said Patty Wiatrek, who lives next door to the property.
At the time, Wiatrek and other nearby landowners argued that cutting down trees and disturbing the soil could lead to runoff and contaminate their properties.
They claim that’s exactly what happened when it rained in the summer. They testified in federal court last week that sediment from the site contaminated the aquarium, killing turtles and fish.
“At this point, we want to shut down until we all know what’s going on and we can all agree that there will be no further harm,” Wiatrek said.
A North Carolina-based company called Pine Gate Renewables is building the solar power plant. Earlier this year, the company released renderings of the project, which will largely be hidden behind fences and landscaping.
“What we’ve come up with is a way to minimize the impact on the local neighborhood while also allowing the project to move forward,” Pine Gate Renewables’ Jay Rinke said in a Zoom interview last March. It’s a method,” he said.
Pine Gate provided us with a new statement this week: Some of them are as follows. The project maintains compliance with all state and federal permitting requirements. ”
“We remain confident in the Rio Lago Solar Project and the future of solar energy in Texas. We believe solar power will play an important role in providing another reliable source of domestic energy.”
A dispute over a solar power plant is causing tension in the small town of Bandera.
The day after last week’s public hearing, Wiatrek found three dead deer piled up in his driveway in front of a sign opposing the project.
“Someone did this on purpose,” Wiatrek said.
She called the sheriff’s office, but no one has been charged.
Pine Gate Renewables said in a statement: We respect the authority of local law enforcement to investigate this matter. ”
Other Bandera residents also appeared at the court hearing to support solar opponents.
“None of this energy from one million solar panels will ever come into Bandera County, but the impact will be long-lasting,” Carrie Crumlin said.
Pine Gate Renewables disputes this, saying it has close to 500,000 solar panels and the power will be distributed throughout ERCOT’s system, including Bandera.
Both are scheduled to appear in court again on Friday. Residents are asking a judge to halt the project and order changes to reduce runoff.
