Dozens of residents voiced concerns last week about a solar farm proposed in the Woodbine area.

Trajectory Energy — the solar company proposing the project on 11.44 acres at 3180 Daisy Road in Woodbine — hosted a community meeting at the Glenwood Branch library; more than 60 residents attended.

Many who attended said they worried the proposed solar farm would detract from the “rural nature” of the area. Some said they worried tree removal would threaten stormwater drainage. Others said they believed the plan would hurt property values.

“We’ve been here for 20 years. You’re not going to come in and mess with (the neighborhood) — not without us really (speaking) up,” Bud Heidhausen, who lives near the proposed solar farm, said in an interview.

Heidhausen was vocal during the meeting, adamant that the homes in the neighborhood would lose value if the solar farm were built. Heidhausen and others came prepared with their own research, poking holes in arguments from Trajectory Energy and the Dewberry design firm saying that adding a solar farm to the area would benefit neighbors.

The project of about 5,000 solar panels would generate 2 megawatts of electricity, take between six and nine months to build, and cost between $5 million and $6 million, Trajectory Energy co-founder David Lipowicz said. This would be his first solar project in Howard County.

“The benefits of community solar in general is that it’s an opportunity to produce clean energy locally and give local homes and businesses an opportunity to subscribe to the project,” Lipowicz said in an interview. “The site has good access to electrical infrastructure. That’s really good for solar. It’s got access to certain kinds of powerlines for connecting to the grid.”

In 2021, Howard County passed legislation that allowed solar facilities in all zones including on agriculturally preserved land. District 5 County Council member David Yungmann says Howard County makes it easy to get solar installed, which is why so many solar projects are planned here.

Yungmann, a Republican, said his views on solar projects are directly tied to threats to agriculture.

“I have concerns with putting commercial solar facilities on farmland,” Yungmann said. “I think it constitutes a serious threat to the survival of agriculture in our county and our state. … I truly believe we are going to look back in 20 or 25 years, realize that we never got out of solar what we thought we were going to get out of it, and we’ve destroyed agriculture along the way.”

A bill passed by the General Assembly in April and signed by Gov. Wes Moore the following month prevents local governments from adopting zoning laws that restrict the construction or operation of solar energy projects if they meet all required criteria. Under the legislation, local jurisdictions are also required to expedite the review and approval of these projects.

Despite being told about a potential discount for BGE customers who tap into the solar power generated by the farm, those in attendance were not tuning into the benefits. Instead, they said they were concerned about what it would mean for their neighborhood to have thousands of solar panels built next door.

Bruce Johns has lived in the community since 2005 and voiced support for neighbors who want “to keep it a rural area.” Johns, who lives on Eleanors Garden Way, directly across Daisy Road from the land where the solar panels are proposed, said after the meeting that his concerns were not allayed.

“They call it a farm, but it’s not really a farm,” Johns said. “I’m still concerned. … I’m not against solar energy, I just think it’s too close to residential.

“You don’t want to get blindsided by commercial development,” he said.

In neighboring Carroll County, the board of commissioners adopted an ordinance in July 2023 prohibiting new solar-generating farms on farmland. But several applicants have chosen to apply to the state for permission to build solar farms on agricultural land in Sykesville, Hampstead and Westminster.

They are in various stages of the approval process. Carroll County’s prohibition of solar facilities on agricultural land can be overridden by the Maryland Public Service Commission, and commissioners there have filed petitions to intervene in at least two of the proposed projects.

The Woodbine solar project is in the pre-submission phase. Next, Trajectory Energy will submit a conditional use petition and plans to the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning, which will review them and decide whether they meet criteria outlined in county code. If approved, the county will schedule a public hearing.

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