An “agrivoltaic” solar facility on 1,588 acres in Oregon’s Willamette Valley aims to defuse the conflict between renewable energy and farmland preservation, but it’s still sparking controversy.

Though the Muddy Creek Energy Park near Brownsville, Ore., would produce both livestock forage and solar power, the project is meeting with familiar complaints about damage to agriculture, wildlife habitat and property values.

“This project is being proposed for a part of the state that is fairly densely populated and in a latitude that doesn’t have a high yield of sunlight annually. Why is this area desirable when in Eastern Oregon there are thousands of acres of open land much more suitable for this kind of development?” according to David and Kathy Rogers, owners of the River Refuge Seed Co. near Brownsville.

Apart from its impact on farmland, the facility would harm seasonal wetlands needed by migrating waterfowl, they said. “Solar panels can also present a danger, particularly to wildfowl, as the birds can mistake a field of panels for a body of water and be killed or injured trying to land or fish.”

These objections and others have been submitted to Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council, which will decide the fate of the 199-megawatt facility over the next year or longer.

An application seeking approval for the facility is being prepared by the U.S. subsidiary of Hanwha Q Cells, a South Korea-based solar company that aims to begin construction in the latter half of 2024.

Solar power and sheep grazing

The company says it has begun discussions “with multiple stakeholders to gather their input” on the project, which proposes “combining solar panels with sheep ranching and native plants” to generate power for about 34,000 homes.

“This ‘dual use’ allows continued farming, creates flexibility for farmers, contributes to the local tax base, and produces clean energy all while keeping farmland in use and in families,” said Brian Tran, development manager for the company.

The Linn County Farm Bureau met with the developer last month and hasn’t yet taken a position on the project, though “we’ve got some members who aren’t too happy about it,” said Denver Pugh, its president.

In general, the Oregon Farm Bureau’s policy is to discourage energy development that takes farmland out of production, he said.

While the solar arrays would still allow sheep to graze, aspects of such agrivoltaic or dual use systems haven’t yet been thoroughly studied regarding pasture quality and weed control, Pugh said.

Likewise, though the project is meant to be temporary but includes such elements as gravel roads that aren’t easily removed, he said. “That’s stuff that makes it fairly permanent.”

As the proposal appears to be at an early stage, the Farm Bureau hopes for more opportunities to learn and eventually comment on the project, Pugh said. “We definitely have our questions.”

The state’s Department of Energy scheduled its first public meeting about the Muddy Creek Energy Park on July 25 in Brownsville’s City Hall and will accept public comments until Aug. 11 about its “notice of intent” to build the facility.

Siting process

Obtaining siting approval for such a project is a multi-step process in which the application is initially reviewed by the Department of Energy, followed by a “contested case” proceeding overseen by an independent hearing officer.

If a project prevails in that proceeding, a majority of the seven-member Energy Facility Siting Council must vote to approve construction.

The council’s final order may then be challenged directly before the Oregon Supreme Court, but only by opponents who’ve participated in the administrative process.

In its “notice of intent” to EFSC, the developer expects to install 8-foot long and 4-foot wide solar panels that use tracker systems to follow the sun’s path and maximize energy production. The panels would likely be mounted about 5 feet from the ground on posts that extend 6-10 feet below the soil surface and possibly rely on concrete foundations, depending on site conditions.

Other project components include a battery storage system, a collector substation, a half-mile transmission line as well as perimeter fencing and service roads, the notice said. Altogether, these elements will occupy about 1,100 acres.

Surveys of wetlands and wildlife habitat within the project’s 2.5-square mile boundary will guide “micrositing” of these components to minimize negative effects. Wildfire risks and cultural, historical and scenic resources will also be evaluated as part of the application process, the notice said.

Up to 300 workers, including 150 construction workers, may be employed at the site while it’s being built. Once it’s finished, the project would require one or two “operations and maintenance” personnel during its 40-year operative lifespan, the notice said.