Jeff Sharp said the county is waiting for engineers to start redesigning the Timberland Solar Project site the first week of April.
Sharp said he is hopeful for the future of the project, but it doesn’t make up for years of challenges that neighboring folks have experienced.
“I think we'll ultimately end up in the right place,” said Sharp, county director of planning, zoning and compliance. “But, it's taken three-plus years, and those adjoining landowners have suffered because of it.”
Sharp told the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners in February that RWE had acknowledged, for the first time, the stormwater runoff issues and mentioned the redesigning of the solar site to protect residents whose land is impacted.
Planned action by RWE Clean Energy engineers comes after much deliberation between the county and RWE.
These issues were first reported in December 2022, when John Burt cited problems that began because of a substation that was built near his property.
“I bought the property knowing the transmission line was there,” Burt said in previous Echo reporting. “But it wasn't until this (substation) came, which is a result of that whole solar project. All this stuff's happening and snowballing just because of the solar project. If it weren't for the solar project, we wouldn't have a substation. If we didn't have the substation, we wouldn't have a highly energized line, which increases the risk probably tenfold of what it used to be a year ago.”
Sharp said the land occupied by the solar project was a timbered site. As part of the ordinance between RWE and the county, water cannot be released any faster post-development than it was released pre-development.
RWE engineers plan to redesign the site without removing any of the solar panels already installed.
“RWE has retained a highly regarded geotechnical engineer to design system improvements,” John Stoddard, RWE community engagement strategist, wrote in an email. "The remedial design will retain stormwater for controlled release and water quality by modifying existing engineered ponds and outfall structures. We are confident we can achieve our goals without removal of solar arrays or related infrastructure."
Sharp said he and RWE share one thing in common: issues with MYR, the contracting company.
“The contractor has become very argumentative,” Sharp said. “I refuse to even attempt to have any discussions with them now. All my discussions are with RWE.”
RWE has taken the responsibility of working with MYR.
“The contract between the project owner and contractor required the contractor to design and build the stormwater management system in accordance with all applicable laws, permits and sound engineering practices,” Stoddard wrote in an email. “The contractor was also responsible for monitoring and best management practices during construction. RWE is independently ensuring all necessary remedial work is completed and will separately hold its contractor accountable.”
On Jan. 26, 2024, the county issued a stop-the-work order because of RWE’s failure to address the violations to the contract made between the company and the county regarding environmental impact, public safety and the project’s future. However, the stop-the-work order was lifted less than a month later.
“It frustrated me tremendously, because this thing has been going on since I started with the county in September of 2022,” Sharp said. “My first trip out there, I knew there were going to be issues, and I've been raising this concern since then.”
Board of Commission Chairman Jay Paul said he shares Sharp’s frustrations with the project.
“Several of the surrounding property owners have been impacted by their deficiencies,” Paul said. “It has been going on for years, so I hope they finally get it right. So, it is hard for me to be a big fan of the site when it has created so many problems.”
Additionally at the February meeting, Sharp was stern with the board as he warned them to “do our homework before we sign up for any more of these” regarding partnerships with companies like RWE and MYR.
Sharp thinks the board took his warning to heart.
“We’ve actually rewritten our entire solar ordinance to try to protect ourselves better from this type of thing,” Sharp said.