Tell me about living next to a solar farm.
April 17, 2018 11:22 AM Subscribe
To counter some unfortunate local NIMBYism, I need first-hand accounts of what it's like to live next to a solar farm.
This month, our county planning and zoning board is considering passing some pretty stringent restrictions on the development of solar farms in the county, largely because a relatively small number of people are concerned that solar farms will be noisy, block their view of the gorgeous cornfields surrounding us, and bring down property values. The ZBA is considering creating an excessively large setback requirement (500 feet) between the inverter and any neighboring property line. This is an unreasonable distance that will really discourage any large solar farm development in the county.
I'd like to hear from actual people who live or have lived next to large solar farms, especially people whose property line was within 500 feet of the inverters. Is there significant noise? Were there obstructed views? Did your property values decrease?
This issue has become pretty heated, and so I'd really appreciate some dispassionate perspective. Actual data would be welcome too, so if anyone has links to studies that suggest solar farms aren't noisy and don't detract from property values, that would be great too.
This month, our county planning and zoning board is considering passing some pretty stringent restrictions on the development of solar farms in the county, largely because a relatively small number of people are concerned that solar farms will be noisy, block their view of the gorgeous cornfields surrounding us, and bring down property values. The ZBA is considering creating an excessively large setback requirement (500 feet) between the inverter and any neighboring property line. This is an unreasonable distance that will really discourage any large solar farm development in the county.
I'd like to hear from actual people who live or have lived next to large solar farms, especially people whose property line was within 500 feet of the inverters. Is there significant noise? Were there obstructed views? Did your property values decrease?
This issue has become pretty heated, and so I'd really appreciate some dispassionate perspective. Actual data would be welcome too, so if anyone has links to studies that suggest solar farms aren't noisy and don't detract from property values, that would be great too.
Best answer: Haven't lived next to them, but have designed and audited them.
Solar inverters do make a distinctive though steady noise, and they also have fan cooling that can also make noise. The noise would be much less than that of a grain dryer. The good thing about solar, though, is that it doesn't run at night: between the hours of about 21:00 to 05:00, it won't make any noise. 500' from inverter to property line is what a bunch of projects in Ontario ended up with through noise analysis. It won't stop a development, but will constrain the design to using a line of inverter houses down the middle of the arrays. (It might stop development if you've got long narrow lots, though.)
If the proposed project uses trackers rather than fixed solar mount, they can make a small amount of noise.
Solar farms usually have a large fence around them to stop people stealing or damaging the modules. The racks themselves vary in configuration. They pretty much all look like what Solar FlexRack makes. You can't see over them if you're standing on the same level as them, but equally, they're lower than a single-floor building.
Property values? There's always worry before any new facility is built which can cause prices to dip, but they solidify once the thing is up and running. I dunno what the farmland's like near you, but for me, the real landowner/neighbour worries would be about drainage tile damage.
If you want to see all of the issues and questions arising from planning a solar farm, an Ontario REA application essentially requires an as-built design way before construction. An example of all the docs, studies and FAQs would be Loyalist Solar Project. Much of the jargon is Ontario specific, so if you've got questions, memail me. I'm out the industry now, btw.
Depending on the size of the project, it's going to bring in a lot of short-term construction jobs to the area. Solar is lots of little manual jobs: there are few heavy foundations required, but lots and lots of medium-sized truck movements.
If I were living next to one (and I kinda do: there's ~ 200 kW on the hockey rink roof next to my house) I'd be more concerned about who was developing the project. I'd prefer if it were community owned (for local acceptance) but planned and built by the biggest, most experienced constructor. Experienced constructors know exactly how a site will build out, and have met all the problems before, will build quickly, professionally and courteously to neighbours. They might appear a little impersonal, but they've got people to handle everything from site security to community relations. Small builders I'm wary of: sometimes they cut corners, sometimes they go out of business or make wild claims about the project that either backfire or cause annoying rumours.
You'll always get folks claiming wild stuff about renewable energy. Sadly, it's mostly because they don't have a realistic view of the impact of their energy usage.
posted by scruss at 1:06 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
Solar inverters do make a distinctive though steady noise, and they also have fan cooling that can also make noise. The noise would be much less than that of a grain dryer. The good thing about solar, though, is that it doesn't run at night: between the hours of about 21:00 to 05:00, it won't make any noise. 500' from inverter to property line is what a bunch of projects in Ontario ended up with through noise analysis. It won't stop a development, but will constrain the design to using a line of inverter houses down the middle of the arrays. (It might stop development if you've got long narrow lots, though.)
If the proposed project uses trackers rather than fixed solar mount, they can make a small amount of noise.
Solar farms usually have a large fence around them to stop people stealing or damaging the modules. The racks themselves vary in configuration. They pretty much all look like what Solar FlexRack makes. You can't see over them if you're standing on the same level as them, but equally, they're lower than a single-floor building.
Property values? There's always worry before any new facility is built which can cause prices to dip, but they solidify once the thing is up and running. I dunno what the farmland's like near you, but for me, the real landowner/neighbour worries would be about drainage tile damage.
If you want to see all of the issues and questions arising from planning a solar farm, an Ontario REA application essentially requires an as-built design way before construction. An example of all the docs, studies and FAQs would be Loyalist Solar Project. Much of the jargon is Ontario specific, so if you've got questions, memail me. I'm out the industry now, btw.
Depending on the size of the project, it's going to bring in a lot of short-term construction jobs to the area. Solar is lots of little manual jobs: there are few heavy foundations required, but lots and lots of medium-sized truck movements.
If I were living next to one (and I kinda do: there's ~ 200 kW on the hockey rink roof next to my house) I'd be more concerned about who was developing the project. I'd prefer if it were community owned (for local acceptance) but planned and built by the biggest, most experienced constructor. Experienced constructors know exactly how a site will build out, and have met all the problems before, will build quickly, professionally and courteously to neighbours. They might appear a little impersonal, but they've got people to handle everything from site security to community relations. Small builders I'm wary of: sometimes they cut corners, sometimes they go out of business or make wild claims about the project that either backfire or cause annoying rumours.
You'll always get folks claiming wild stuff about renewable energy. Sadly, it's mostly because they don't have a realistic view of the impact of their energy usage.
posted by scruss at 1:06 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
scruss has an excellent answer.
To add on a bit: there will be noise from maintenance activities and vehicles; less than made by tractors, plows, combines, harrows or sprinklers. Also electrical distribution equipment (mostly transformers) can have an audible hum. None of these will generally be more obvious/louder than typical farm noise. They'll all be attenuated by the rustle of wind in any commercial grain crop.
Transmission towers, if they even need them, are the only thing having height greater than a single story building.
Also remembering this little humour break (re: windfarms but transferable, the actual negatives of solar farms are even less) may help when wading deep into the NIMBY pool.
posted by Mitheral at 8:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
To add on a bit: there will be noise from maintenance activities and vehicles; less than made by tractors, plows, combines, harrows or sprinklers. Also electrical distribution equipment (mostly transformers) can have an audible hum. None of these will generally be more obvious/louder than typical farm noise. They'll all be attenuated by the rustle of wind in any commercial grain crop.
Transmission towers, if they even need them, are the only thing having height greater than a single story building.
Also remembering this little humour break (re: windfarms but transferable, the actual negatives of solar farms are even less) may help when wading deep into the NIMBY pool.
posted by Mitheral at 8:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
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You don't share whether the installation is ground-mounted or pole-mounted (with possible tracking). IMHO, how they are mounted is really the only issue to consider, with pole-mounted possibly a view-related issue.
I really can't think of a better industrial/commercial neighbor than a PV farm.
SandPine
posted by sandpine at 12:45 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]