HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — A large-scale solar farm may come to Houston County, but for one naturalist, the proposed location is too close to home.
John Trussell is a certified master naturalist, is on the Houston County Zoning and Appeals board and has been a 35-year nature writer for Georgia Outdoor News. One of his passion projects is preserving the Oaky Woods management area. A solar farm, which he said will be among the largest in the county, is currently set too close nearby.
The proposed location for the over 4000 acre solar farm, according to Trussell, is next to the Oaky Woods Management Area, and Trussell said the placement of the proposed solar farm could be a detriment to the wildlife that calls Oaky Woods home.
“We kind of call that ‘a monoculture of nothing.’ That’s what a solar farm is. I mean, they do create power when the sun is shining, but nothing lives there. You know what I mean? It’s just black panels. And it’s just it’s kind of like an oxymoron right next to the place that we bought to protect the bear population,” Trussell said.
Trussell mentioned that a similar farm in Taylor County has seen a decline in wildlife and fears Oaky Woods may suffer the same fate.
“They’ve got some solar panels over there and you’re seeing the kind of scrubby soil. And that’s not good for farming; you can barely grow a pine tree. … Butterflies can’t be there. The birds are not going to use the area. There’s no trees for them to use to live. So it’s just a very sterile environment which is non compatible to the management area that’s right next to it,” Trussell said.
Alternatives, according to Trussell, are placement of solar farms in more industrial areas and compensation to the Department of Natural Resources via a mitigation fund, allowing them to purchase more woodland to keep safe.
“I’m trying to get politicians to be aware of the coming issue with all these solar farms. I think they’re a very negative impact on our environment, even though they’re necessary. They need to go in small areas, like parking lots, on top of buildings, areas that are not productive, and we shouldn’t be using our best farmland and woodlands to convert it into sterile environments,” Trussell said.
As Trussell explained, he isn’t against green energy, but is against wild lands suffering from its placement, and believes regulations should be in place that have nature in mind when companies choose land for a solar farm.
“You know, I think we all love electric power, and we’re all dependent upon it. We need more of it. But I think there’s good farmland or woodlands; we shouldn’t be taken up all of our good lands for our solar ranches,” Trussell said.
The farm, as Trussell explained, could potentially damage a site here in Houston County that is akin to a national park.
“It’s for hunting, fishing. hiking, cycling; It’s probably the closest thing that middle Georgia will ever have to a national park in Houston County. The public can actually camp out there. You know, if you’ve got a hunting and fishing license, you can camp on Oaky Woods the campground out there for nothing, and a lot of people don’t know that.”
The Journal will stay updated on the proposed project and bring updates as they are made available. In the meantime, more information on Oaky Woods can be found at https://georgiawildlife.com/oaky-woods-wma.
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