To help meet increased state of Delaware mandates to acquire solar and wind electricity, Kent County Levy Court commissioners may approve an environmentally intrusive industrial solar array in and around zoned area for agricultural conservation.
If approved, the project — on the north sides of Lighthouse and Woodland Beach roads, east of Smyrna — will adversely impact all manner of life, including humans, and forever alter the character of undeveloped land in an area of Delaware that should be protected by the Delaware Coastal Zone Act and its accompanying regulations but isn’t. This project is not green; it is gangrene and should be strongly opposed by all citizens concerned about the natural environment.
This project is fueled not by the sun, but by federal and state of Delaware mandates and preferential treatment for the supply of unreliable electricity to the grid, along with extremely favorable tax policies that make these projects a favorite tax haven for the wealthy. The almost-guaranteed profitability of projects like this one undermines the probability of reliable sources of electricity generation — such as nuclear, coal and natural gas — as well as threatens the reliability of the electrical grid and drives up the costs for the delivery of electricity.
All of this negatively affects families and job creation in Delaware, while any short-term jobs created are more than offset by employment destroyed because of the higher cost of electricity. The Kent County commissioners should not serve as a rubber stamp for land-use policies based on foolish laws crafted by members of the General Assembly and the special interests to whom Congress is beholden.
Kent County Levy Court is set to vote on the solar facility at 7 tonight at the county Administration Building, 555 Bay Road, Dover.
John A. Nichols
Clayton
