Sun Rising on New Solar Project

by Preston Knight, Communication Manager

The activity at Fred and Barbara Garber’s property, from a construction standpoint, has subsided.

From a renewable energy angle, it’s only the beginning.

The transition to turn part of the Garbers' Shenandoah County property into SVEC’s first community solar facility is over. Fred Garber likens the project to a small, “modern-day woodlot,” fueling heat and electricity just as farms in the past had areas furnishing wood for all farming needs.

As the site is expected to begin electric production in the coming weeks, SVEC and its members are about to reap the benefits of a major piece of clean energy.

Community solar is a solar power source shared by more than one property. It will allow members who cannot or prefer not to have solar installed on their roof/property the opportunity to participate in the benefits that solar systems o er.

SVEC members will be able to participate by voluntarily enrolling in the near future.

Construction at Garber’s property began in September 2022. The project, along Walker and Georgetown roads outside of Mount Jackson, is adjacent to an existing SVEC substation. The roughly 4 MW of energy to be generated is equivalent to about 570 homes’ annual electricity use.

The project is a joint e ort of EDF Renewables, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative and SVEC. ODEC is SVEC’s power provider. EDF Renewables is working with ODEC to develop a portfolio of distributed solar projects across ODEC member service territories in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. A dozen projects are being developed, designed and constructed in partnership with SVEC’s sister coops.

“It’s been a hectic year,” Garber says. “It’s nice to be able to go outside and hear the morning doves versus construction. It is nice to have the peace and quiet return. I’m glad it’s finished, for a variety of reasons.”

In 2022, SVEC adopted a clean power plan, a document that puts on paper everything the co-op says it is committed to achieving in being good stewards of the environment. Supporting renewable energy e orts, specifically expanding access to solar, is one component.

Community solar is one part of the full equation to reducing our carbon footprint and will make solar generation available to members who may not otherwise be able to install or own solar of their own.

Since at-home solar isn’t practical for all locations and budgets, community solar is an option for everyone.

Garber is hopeful co-op members see the benefits. In an interview with Nancy Sorrells of the Alliance of the Shenandoah Valley for the organization’s newsletter, he sums up his rationale for helping to bring community solar to SVEC members.

“We have to do something about climate change,” Garber says. “I have absolutely no ability on a global level or even a national level to do anything about that. But I do have an ability to do something here in Shenandoah County.”

Generates clean, renewable electricity without using water, creating emissions or producing waste products;

Diversifies the region’s electricity generation mix, which reduces the reliance on natural gas and other fuels that are subject to high price volatility;

Allows members who are not able to install their own solar to participate in tangible solar energy production.

Smaller size, in acreage, creates lower visual profile to preserve rural surroundings;

Located adjacent to existing infrastructure;

Minimal land disturbance because no site grading was required.