CARVERS CREEK SOLAR
Located in Gloucester County, Virginia, adjacent to existing transmission lines on remote private land.
Project Overview
CARVERS CREEK SOLAR
We are developing the Carvers Creek Solar Project, a 150 MW solar project facility located in Gloucester County, Virginia, adjacent to existing transmission lines on remote private land. The location is highly suitable for a solar energy project. The project has been under development since 2019 and construction for the substation and laydown areas have begun in Fall of 2022. The first 50 MW of construction is scheduled to being in the Summer of 2023 and the remaining 100 MW is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2023. The project will provide power to Amazon through a negotiated long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the energy produced by the project.
Project Summary
The Carvers Creek Solar Project is a 150 MW solar photovoltaic generating facility located in Gloucester County, Virginia, approximately 10 km East of Richmond, Virginia, which is the nearest major city to the Project. The Project site covers an area of approximately 1787 acres with 812 acres of buildable area. The Project will interconnect at Dominion Energy’s 115kV Owl Trap Switching Station Project. The general area surrounding the Project site consists of undeveloped farmland and small rural towns.
- Comprised of approximately 550,000 bi-facial photovoltaic panels installed on single-axis trackers.
- Designed to avoid and minimize environmental impacts. Steep slopes, wetlands, streams, and other environmentally sensitive lands will be avoided to the extent practicable.
- All necessary studies, approvals and permits have been or will be obtained prior to construction.
The project has been under development since 2019 and construction for the substation and laydown areas have begun in Fall of 2022. The first 50 MW of construction is scheduled to being in the Summer of 2023 and the remaining 100 MW is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2023. The Commercial Operation Date is targeted for Spring / Summer of 2024.
Construction Updates
March 2024
- Pile driving has progressed.
- Solar panel installation continues.
- Substation work is 90% completed.
- Grading work throughout the site is progressing.
- Site continues to implement environmental protection activities.
February 2024
- Pile driving has progressed.
- Solar panel installation continues.
- Substation work is on going.
- Grading work throughout the site is progressing.
- Site continues to implement environmental protection activities.
November 2023
Substation / Switchyard / Laydown Yard
- Installation of Switchyard and Substation Pad – 100%
- Switchyard work has progressed
- Substation work approximately 60% completed.
- Laydown Yard / Office Parking Lot – Trailers installed
- 2 Proposed site access roads – 100%
Phase 1 – 50 MW (Construction scheduled to start May 2023)
- Tree Clearing – 100%
- Grading Complete
- SWPPP BMPs (including basins) Installed – 100%
- 1 Proposed site access road – 100%
- Main component work:
- Racking and pile installation – 0%
- Electrical components installation – 0%
- Module installation – 0%
- Etc.
- Delivery of racking, modules and electrical components continues.
- Contractor continues civil and environmental protection work. This work will be on-going.
Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ )
Why Solar?
Over the past few years, demand for renewable energy has grown dramatically, driven in part by corporations with sustainability goals. More than 200 companies worldwide have made commitments to go 100% renewable. Because solar energy is clean, reliable, and affordable, it has earned the spot as the fastest-growing source of electricity in the world.
Are solar panels noisy?
Solar panels themselves are completely silent; however, certain pieces of equipment on a solar farm do emit sound. Transportation and maintenance equipment—including cars, trucks, lawnmowers, and string trimmers—is a common source of noise on solar farms that most people are used to hearing elsewhere. In addition to these sources, inverters and transformers on a solar farm will generate low levels of sound. A study in 2014 conducted at a solar facility in Australia determined that direct noise from the solar facility experienced at nearby residences would reach only 30 dBA, which is around the ambient noise level at night in a rural area. This indicates that any noise from the solar inverters would be imperceptible to nearby residents.
Why was Gloucester County selected for a solar farm?
The area has sufficient solar radiance for the planning of the renewable project. Several factors are considered during the site selection process: solar irradiation, land options, proximity to interconnection facilities, environmental constraints, and land use. Solar panels work perfectly fine during cloudy or rainy days. Though they are most efficient during sunny days because of the direct sunlight that comes from the sun, solar panels can still generate power during rainy or cloudy days since the solar cells on the solar panels are powered by light and not by heat.
What are the visual impacts of solar?
Because solar collection devices are usually only about 10 feet tall, and solar farms are often surrounded by trees, the visual impacts of a solar farm to the surrounding community are very minimal. At Carvers Creek Solar, due to the natural vegetation and topography of the site, surrounding roadways and residences will have very limited views of the facility. We’ve proactively identified the areas that may experience visibility and have added an additional setback and vegetative screening to protect neighbors’ views.
In any location where existing timber or vegetation does not already exist within the landscaping buffer, the project will plan screening consisting of 2 staggered rows of evergreens (such as Leyland cypress Trees) of 5’ in height (excluding root mass) at planting and spaced then foot on center within the 25’ closets to the right-of-way. See Landscape Plan for details.
Will this project raise my power bills?
Carvers Creek Solar will not raise local electricity prices. In fact, the cost of solar power has dropped by more than 70% since 2010 and is now one of the lowest-cost options for electricity generation. When comparing unsubsidized, levelized costs of energy, utility-scale solar energy is comparable in price to wind energy and natural gas combined-cycle power, and it is significantly more cost-effective than coal or nuclear power. Solar power also has the benefit of producing electricity during the times of day when demand and power costs are the highest. On a midsummer afternoon, for example, when homes and businesses are running their air conditioners at full power, a solar facility is generating at full power as well, which helps close the gap between electricity supply and electricity demand. This has the effect of lowering electricity costs across the board.
Where will the power generated from the project go?
The Project has negotiated a long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Amazon for the energy produced by the project.
What happens if the solar farm goes out of use?
There are often concerns about what happens to a solar farm once it stops producing energy or if the owner goes out of business. As part of the permitting process, the Project must provide a complete detailed decommissioning plan that is funded by an irrevocable form of financial security to cover decommissioning costs. This ensures that money is always available to remove the solar farm if or when it is no longer operable.
What happens to solar panels at the end of their life?
At the end of a solar facility’s useful life, estimated to be about 30 years on average, panels can be removed and recycled. Recycling programs are being developed that are expected to recover about 90% of the materials used in the panels, much of which is glass. In fact, the International Renewable Energy Agency projects that the value of recovered materials could exceed $15 billion by 2050 and that the material recovered could be used to remanufacture two billion solar panels. The solar industry is actively developing new systems and protocols in anticipation of the future retirement of solar panels. These efforts include establishing uniform, cost-effective recycling practices (e.g., identifying vendors and service providers, aggregating end-of-life solar components, and streamlining and improving recycling processes).
Why are you choosing to site this project in a cloudy area?
The cost of solar energy has decreased significantly in the past 10 years, and it is now economically viable to generate solar electricity even in cloudier places, such as Virginia.
You might be surprised to learn that solar panels still produce between 10-25% of their typical output even on a cloudy day.
How will Carvers Creek generate energy in the winter? Will it be impacted by heavy snow or extreme cold?
You might be surprised to learn that sunny cold weather is actually an ideal condition for solar panels to perform optimally. On the other hand, extremely hot climates actually make solar panels less efficient.
As far as snow is concerned, a light dusting of snow has little impact on the panels and can be easily blown off by wind. Because panels are tilted at an angle, snow will also slide off of panels over time, cleaning the panel as it melts and slides off. After heavier snowfalls panels will be cleared by facility employees. Interestingly enough, because of the reflectivity, or albedo effect, of snow, having snow on the ground near the panels can contribute towards them producing more electricity, with the smooth white surface reflecting light like a mirror.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/let-it-snow-how-solar-panels-can-thrive-winter-weather
Will anything be placed on my property without my permission?
Project components will only be sited on private properties whose owners signed a lease or purchase agreement with Carvers Creek Solar. All agreements are fully voluntary between landowners and the project.
What happens to neighboring property values?
Recent research on the impact of solar farms on property values supports the conclusion that solar facilities do not decrease property values. Furthermore, there is no discernable impact on property values regardless of whether solar farms are located near residential, agricultural, or industrial properties.
Additionally, studies have found that substantial benefits are flowing to communities where solar farms are located. A report by the University of North Carolina examined the economic impact of more than 100 solar projects in over 50 countries and found that solar facilities have increased the tax revenue from agricultural property by between 1,000% and 10,000%.
Are solar panels safe?
Carvers Creek Solar and most other utility-scale projects use panels with no harmful chemicals. There is one type of solar panel that may contain some harmful materials. Depending on the type of panel being used, these materials can include cadmium telluride, copper indium selenide, sulfur hexafluoride, and silicon tetrachloride. Cadmium telluride is only used in thin-film solar modules; Carvers Creek will not be using this type of panel.
It is important to note that no matter the panel type, the harmful substances named above are fully contained and unreactive in the solar panels. Because they are embedded into the panels during manufacturing, there is simply no physical mechanism or chemical reaction that would allow these materials to escape the solar panels during operation.
Solar panels have not been linked to any adverse human health issues. On the contrary, they have proved beneficial to human health by displacing the air pollution caused by fossil fuel electric generation, conserving clean water, and reducing the harmful impacts of climate change.
The North Carolina Clean Energy Center at North Carolina State University conducted an exhaustive study examining the fire, safety, and public health risks of utility-scale solar energy projects, including concerns regarding toxicity, electromagnetic fields, and electric shock potential. For each of these concerns, the study concluded that “the negative health and safety impacts of utility-scale PV development were shown to be negligible, while the public health and safety benefits of installing these facilities are significant and far outweigh any negative impacts.”
Can solar panels catch fire?
Evidence shows that fires caused by solar equipment are rare, and they only occur if an improper connection or other electrical fire hazard is present. In most circumstances, good system design, product selection, and installation procedures are enough to minimize the risk of fire to the greatest extent possible. These concerns are further addressed by product safety standards, National Electric Code provisions, and inspections that take place prior to solar facility energization.
Another factor that limits solar panel fires is the small portion of materials in the panels that are flammable, which prevents them from self-sustaining a significant fire. The majority of each solar panel is composed of protective glass that makes up over three quarters of the panels’ weight.
Industry Information
Contact Information
E-mail : admin@revrenewables.com