Georgetown Wants to Raze 210 Acres of Trees to Meet Green-Energy Goals. Environmentalists Are Crying Foul.

by Rachel Chason (Washington Post) Environmentalists are in a position they never imagined: Fighting a solar panel project that would help Georgetown University dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

They say the project, which involves razing about 210 acres of trees in rural Charles County, Md., could endanger the area’s birds and lead to runoff that would put tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay at risk.

Leaders at the solar company hired by Georgetown counter that they are prioritizing the safety of the bay but that “trade-offs are necessary” in renewable energy projects. Reductions in greenhouse emissions from the solar panels, they say, would be equivalent to planting hundreds of thousands of trees.

The activists accuse Georgetown and Origis Energy of “green-washing” and are hoping to convince the Maryland Department of the Environment to deny a needed permit. A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.

Charles County’s 12-member Board of Appeals, which grants special-exception zoning permits, unanimously approved the solar farm on May 8.

Edwin Moses, managing director of project development for Origis, said the company hopes to begin construction this summer, following final approval by the county and state. He said the rural 537-acre parcel, about 12 miles west of La Plata, was chosen based on its proximity to power lines and business considerations, including price.

Andrew Elmore, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, said the best place for solar panel installations are the roofs of parking lots and buildings. He said he is not familiar with the details of the Origis project but studies how ecosystems interact with land-use issues.

Environment secretary Ben H. Grumbles, who must decide whether to grant a wetlands permit, said the project “is definitely raising some concerns about unacceptable impacts on the trees and wetlands.”

He said the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan (R) wants to balance creating new renewable energy projects and making sure that those projects happen in locations that are appropriate. Last month, Hogan joined Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, both Democrats, to block Columbia Gas from using state land to build a natural gas pipeline that activists have been fighting for two years. Hogan also supported a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the state.

State Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles County), who lives a few miles from the site, described the project as “a win-win for Charles County.”

“To be honest, it’s a great source of energy,” Ellis said. “It will also be great for the county because we will get commercial tax revenue.”

For the activists, who have long pushed to limit big developments in Charles County, the project is another example of a company from outside the area trying to develop land in a way that they believe isn’t right for the largely rural community 30 miles from Washington. READ MORE