blog post 3
Hailee Bryan
Blog Post 3
American Government and Politics
4/12/22
The Effects of Solar Power Facilities Placed in Agricultural Areas in Walton County, Florida
Florida Power & Light has begun its development of several solar power generation facilities, two of them being in Walton County. The County’s Planning Director, Mac Carpenter, approved the development to be constructed on 762 acres southeast of Paxton. This particle facility will be known as The Pecan Tree Solar Energy Center and, in total, will cover 4,500-acres with an assemble of three more solar facilities. The 74.5-megawatt facility will come online later this year and is said to be able to power 15,000 homes annually. The ultimate goal of this project by Florida Light & Power is to have 30 million solar panels installed across the state by 2030.
Walton County Commissioners initially rejected this project because of concerns of the facilities located in areas zoned for agriculture. In December of 2020, it passed with a 3-2 vote, but had a lot of opposition from locals and property owners. Before them initial meeting, this was considered a “major” development, but now it is considered a “minor” one. This makes it easier for the board to get approval and has less construction permits and other permissions that must be accounted for. This makes it easier for new facilities to be approved with less paperwork and less approval.
Crestview resident, Angel Minnis, led a peaceful protest with approximately 20 people gathered around Crestview City Hall on March 2, 2022. This protest was led because of high rates after Gulf Power merged with Florida Power & Light. Paxton local, David Herring has spoken out many times against the placement of such facilities. Herring lives in a rural area just outside of Paxton, FL, in northern Walton County. The new solar facility is actually right in his backyard! A recent post to a community blog has made local headlines where Herring shows a before and after view from his back porch featuring large amounts of metal, where there used to be crops. Although Herring himself is not a farmer, he states, “I just don’t see how this can be beneficial for the environment or our local farmers.” Many other locals are having the same thought as Herring wondering how this could benefit them. As mentioned before, this particular system of solar plants is expected to power 15,000 homes annually. There are currently 53,637 homes in Walton County. Here the question of whose homes gets powered by the solar plants comes into play.
This topic is a close concern for my family. The newest facility was built in my hometown of Paxton, FL, which is only 4 miles wide and a heavy area for agriculture. My grandfather owns a lot of agricultural land in Walton County, all used for agricultural purposes. As a member of north Walton County, it is very obvious that most of the county’s funding goes to the south end. You can see this in the public school, the farther south you get, the nicer the schools and the more advanced the technology. Paxton School the farthest north in the county is a K-12, with a little under 1000 students in total. I grew up having no personal technology supplied by the school except for the lab (mobile home) of 10-year-old Microsoft computers we used since I attended the school. It was not until one of my close friends moved to South Walton High School that I was informed of the gap in funding. Their computer labs were filled with Apple Computers, and a new brick wall had recently gone up around the school with state-of-the-art technology to keep intruders out. Paxton got a chain link fence and a buzzer system at the front door. It comes as no shock that northern county residents feel as though they will get the short end of the stick with this deal.
On the other hand, these new facilities will positively affect 15,000 homes in Walton County, therefore there are many positives to come from this. This class has taught me to look at both sides of every story. Here, I can see how this could be a good investment for Walton County and how it would greatly serve the community. I do think there are a lot of different ways to please each party involved in this issue. Florida Power & Light will want to continue with their building of solar facilities, and while it is too late for the ones that are already built, a compromise can be reached. I think Florida Power & Light can do a better job at discussing future plans with residents and communities that will be directly affected by these sites. A board meeting between leading officials and residents is an option, this way both sides can discuss their comments and concerns, as well as hearing each side viewpoints.
This topic is a close concern for my family. The newest facility was built in my hometown of Paxton, FL, which is only 4 miles wide and a heavy area for agriculture. My grandfather owns a lot of agricultural land in Walton County, all used for agricultural purposes.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032113005819
https://datacommons.org/place/geoId/12131?utm_medium=explore&mprop=count&popt=HousingUnit&hl=en