Clean Energy. Local Benefits. Champaign County.

FAQs

Economics

Q: How much will the project pay in property taxes?

A: The Project will pay millions of dollars in property taxes over the initial 20 years of its operation. This money will support local services such as schools, roads, EMS, and the library.

A: The Project conducted a site-specific analysis in response to community concerns. The study concluded that no consistent negative impact has occurred to adjacent property values from solar farms. Similar projects across the country and in western Ohio have shown little measurable effect on adjacent property values. In addition, the large influx of tax revenue can have positive benefits on community infrastructure, schools and other services that benefit property values.

Land and Water

Q: How will the Project impact the Darby watershed?

 A: The Big Darby Creek watershed is an important and unique local feature that the project is taking active steps to protect from potential adverse impacts. In the short term, the Project is coordinating with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate specific watershed recommendations and thoughtful stormwater control measures. The project area will remain vegetated throughout its operational life, reducing sediment runoff for the long-term compared to current agricultural usage with more frequent ground disturbance. Water quality improvements and reduction of runoff from this land use adjustment would be anticipated in the long-term. 

 A: The Project is working closely with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, as well as obtaining feedback from project neighbors, to implement effective temporary and permanent stormwater control features. The Project’s design will not include large conversions of land to impervious surfaces that would greatly increase the amount of runoff. In addition, the conversion of vegetation from annual crops to long-term cover for the life of the project will further reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from the project area to receiving waters and neighbors

A: No. Solar projects do not generate air or water emissions, or hazardous waste, during their operations.

A: The Project will not use significant amounts of water during operations. Rain is expected to be sufficient for cleaning of panels.

Energy Generation and Reliability

Q: How much electricity will the project generate?

A: The Project is expected to generate enough electricity to offset the electric usage of 6,700 U.S. households. 

A: Critics and opponents will have you believe that renewable energy is completely unreliable. The facts suggest a far different truth. 

Sophisticated monitoring and solar resource analyses allow solar developers to estimate with a high degree of certainty “when” and “how much” solar energy is available, so it can be reliably integrated with other energy resources into the electric grid. When the sunlight is available – and today’s solar panels can work well even when there is only partial sunlight — solar farms are a reliable source of energy and can displace fossil-fueled generation, such as oil and gas.

Solar farms are increasingly the least costly form of electricity on the grid. Solar panel technology has advanced to such a point where it is highly efficient even when the sun isn’t fully available. 

Solar energy is one of many types of power generation associated with the grid.  Those different technologies all work together to provide continuous, reliable power, even when one might be producing less energy or perhaps receiving maintenance

A: A common myth is that solar panels do not work during winter.  You don’t have to live in Palm Springs or Phoenix to achieve strong panel performance.  The U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Test Centers have shown through their own research that solar can still successfully generate electricity in snowy areas and other harsh environments.  For areas prone to snow and ice, fixed-tilt panels are installed at an angle to optimize the amount of solar energy that hits them.  This angular mounting also allows most snow and ice to slide off the panels and onto the ground once the sun rises and begins to warm the panels.  Tracking panels can be placed into the “stowed” position to avoid or minimize potential weather effects from snow and ice.

How Solar Works

Q: What is the structure of a solar panel?

Solar panels are primarily made of the same inert materials that commonly compose everyday buildings and electronics such as glass, aluminum, silicon, copper and semiconductor materials. These materials are encased from air and moisture. Panels may crack when damaged but remain largely intact, similar to windshields.

  • As sunlight hits the solar panels, the solar radiation is converted into direct current (DC) electricity. 

  • The direct current is collected on cables from each “string” of panels and flows into power inverters, where it is converted into alternating current (AC) electricity, which is suitable for use by homes and businesses. 

  • The AC electricity from the power inverters is again collected using a series of cables and delivered to a central electrical substation where it passes through a power transformer.  

  • The transformer boosts the voltage of the current to match the voltage at the point of delivery at the local utility substation. 

  • The local utility distributes the electricity to homes and businesses along its electrical grid.

PV Panels and Racking System – These components make up the bulk of the solar power plant.  In a fixed tile design, the panel arrays would stand approximately 8-9 feet above ground level at their highest point and the panels would face south. The panels are mounted onto a fixed structure at an angle designed to optimize energy collection throughout the year.  Strings of these panels are connected in series. A group of panel strings are then connected to a power inverter unit.

Tracking System – Some PV systems are not fixed but are designed to move and “track” with the sun.  These tracking systems generally require a larger land footprint to construct, but electrical production is higher because the modules receive more direct sunlight. A tracking system generally stands 10-12 feet above ground level at its highest point.

Power Inverter – These units collect output from the panel arrays and convert the power from direct current (DC) electricity, which the panels generate, to alternating current (AC) electricity, which is compatible with the national electrical transmission system. Our homes and our standard home appliances typically operate on AC electricity. No electricity is produced at the inverter; rather, it is a piece of equipment used to convert and control the energy generated by the solar field. 

Electrical Collection – This system is used to aggregate all the AC electricity produced by the inverter units spread out across the solar field.  This AC collection system delivers all electricity to the project substation.

Project Substation – The on-site substation is used to transform the electricity from the collection voltage to the interconnection voltage, which is the operating voltage at the substation where the project is expected to connect to the local transmission system.  The project substation also contains disconnect switches and control equipment to protect both the project and the electrical grid in the event of an electrical fault or emergency.

Transmission Line – An overhead transmission line is used to connect the project substation to the local utility’s substation. 

Fencing – If appropriate, VIP will install a security fence along the perimeter of the project to prevent people from tampering with the electrical equipment and risking injury.  Typically, these security fences stand 6-8 feet tall depending on local ordinances and any other local requirements.

 A: The Big Darby Creek watershed is an important and unique local feature that the project is taking active steps to protect from potential adverse impacts. In the short term, the Project is coordinating with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate specific watershed recommendations and thoughtful stormwater control measures. The project area will remain vegetated throughout its operational life, reducing sediment runoff for the long-term compared to current agricultural usage with more frequent ground disturbance. Water quality improvements and reduction of runoff from this land use adjustment would be anticipated in the long-term. 

Other Questions and Concerns

Q: What impact will the Project have on wildlife?

A: The Project’s design minimizes potential wildlife impacts. Guidance from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is being incorporated into Project design. This Project will be built with wildlife friendly fencing to allow small game to enter and exit the site. The layout also includes several natural breaks between panel areas that allow larger animals, like deer, to pass through.

A: Woodstock Solar as the project owner is required to decommission the system at the end of its life per the lease agreements with the property owners. These requirements include removing solar panels and equipment, decompacting soil, refilling holes, reseeding disturbed soil, and generally restoring the property to its original condition.

More than 85 percent of a solar PV module is made of materials that we already know how to recycle, like aluminum and glass.  The challenge – for which there is a bit of time available to respond given the relative newness of most solar projects – is to make recycling of solar equipment economic.  As more and newer panels come online, the economics of deconstructing and recycling solar is expected to improve significantly. 

Most U.S. PV systems are relatively young – about 70 percent have been installed since 2017.  These systems have decades of service left, and the U.S. DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is using that time to tackle the technology development needed to make recycling economical.

To the extent possible, project equipment will be reconditioned, resourced and/or recycled.  For example, solar panels typically consist of glass, polymer, aluminum, copper and semiconductor materials that can be recovered and recycled at the end of their useful life.  Any materials that cannot be recycled are safely disposed of at approved facilities.

A: Solar panels are designed to absorb, not reflect, sunlight. In fact, they reflect much less light than glass or water. All but about 2% of the sunlight is absorbed and converted to electricity.

A: No. There are opposition websites and that would have you believe that solar panels give off heat and contribute to global warming or climate change.  There is no scientific truth to any such claims.  The fact is that solar panels absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity safely and efficiently, avoiding the need to utilize other more expensive, higher emitting resources that can affect both climate change and public health.

A: Extreme weather generally has little negative impact on solar farms. The support systems for solar arrays are designed to withstand the typical wind loading present in the area where the project is sited. The panels are securely fastened to support systems. Wind damage is typically not a concern. 

As we saw from the performance of a solar farm in Charlotte and Lee Counties, Florida during Hurricane Ian in 2022, the storm knocked out power to about 4 million customers, but the town was able to retain much of its electric power due to the continued performance of the community’s solar farm. 

PV panel manufacturers test and rate their equipment to withstand impacts from hailstones. Any panels that are damaged by hail or other debris can be individually replaced without taking the entire project out of service.

In the case of severe weather or natural disaster, if panels are damaged, trained facility personnel will safely collect, recycle where feasible and/or properly dispose of them.

A: No. Solar projects do not generate air or water emissions, or hazardous waste, during their operations.