Best Management Practices to Minimize Impacts of Solar Farms on Landscape Hydrology and Water Quality

April 6, 2023 - April 7, 2023

This workshop convened in-person on Thursday and Friday, April 6th and 7th at George Mason University in Manassas, VA. On the morning of Day 2, there was a field trip to Dominion Energy Remington Solar Facility in Remington, VA.

Workshop Save the Date: STAC Solar Water Quality Workshop_Save the Date

The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) hosted a two-day workshop to explore the potential impact of land use transition renewable energy within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and our ability to meet TMDL goals. Current BMP recommendations are varied across the watershed, with only some states providing solar-specific stormwater management guidance. There is a need to ascertain the state of the science on solar farms and environmental quality that will inform field research and modeling in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Current guidance on best management practices (BMPs) for minimizing negative environmental impacts of solar farms is highly variable across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Only some states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed currently have solar farm-specific guidance for stormwater management; to our knowledge, that is currently Maryland and Pennsylvania (Maryland Department of Environment, 2013; PA Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP), 2021). Because of strong market conditions and an increased focus on reducing carbon footprint, some states have implemented expedited permits-by-rule for this activity. This has caused negative reaction in some local communities.

The land transitioned to this new use is growing rapidly within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with Virginia alone anticipating more than 100,000 acres eventually needed for solar farms to meet renewable energy goals. Thus it is critical that we adequately understand the implications of this transition on hydrology and water quality, and how to best manage this transition to minimize adverse environmental impacts. There could be opportunities to prioritize certain types of land for conversion to solar farms that may facilitate nutrient and runoff reductions. Implications of certain conversions may merit further research, such as the conversion of conventional agricultural land with soils rich in legacy nutrients. The scale of parcels being converted to solar farms is also of great importance and uncertainty. Current erosion and stormwater control guidelines are not well adapted for the massive scale of some projects and it is unclear how the nature of impacts varies with the scale of solar farms.

Proposed questions to answer at workshop:

1. What is the state of science on how solar farms impact hydrology and water quality under a range of site
   and management conditions and project scales?
2. What are current best management practices and policies, and where in our region are there
   opportunities for improving recommendations and/or policies?
3. What are the key gaps with respect to research needs to better answer questions 1 and 2?

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Final STAC Solar Farms Workshop Agenda

Preworkshop Reading:

• Original workshop request for proposal
• Rouhangiz Yavari et al 2022 Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain. 2 032002
• Best Practices: Photovoltaic Stormwater Management Research and Testing (PV-SMaRT)

Workshop Steering Committee: 

• Lauren McPhillips, Assistant Professor, Penn State – workshop lead
• Anthony Buda, Research Hydrologist/ STAC member,  USDA ARS
• Zachary Easton, Professor + Extension/ STAC member, Virginia Tech
• W. Lee Daniels, Professor, Virginia Tech
• Siobhan Fathel, Asst. Teaching Professor, Penn State
• John Ignosh, Extension Specialist, Virginia Tech
• Cibin Raj, Assistant Professor, Penn State
• David Sample, Professor + Extension, Virginia Tech

Presentation Slides:

• Setting the Stage: A brief review of published research and existing stormwater guidance – Lauren McPhillips (Penn State)
• Scale of Development and Transition: Discussion of the existing and potential extent of planned solar fields in the Bay watershed based on the states’ plans for renewable energy production.
  • Footprint and Land Use of Existing Solar Farms in the Chesapeake Region – Michael Evans (Chesapeake Conservancy) 
  • Potential Extent of Future Solar Farm Implementation – David Murray (American Clean Power) 
• Insights from PV-SMaRT Project – David Mulla (University of Minnesota)
• Soils and Hydrology of Solar Farms in Midwestern US – Sujith Ravi (Temple University)
• Hydrology of Solar Farms in Central PA – Lauren McPhillips (Penn State)
• Regulatory/Permitting Panel – moderated by Tony Buda (USDA)
  Invited Bay state representatives will speak on a panel regarding current and considered regulatory and permitting processes and perceived challenges regarding solar farms. Panelists listed below:
  • Mike Rolband, Director, Virginia Dept of Environmental Quality
  • Andrew Foley/Domenic Rocco, Regional Permit Coordination Office, PA Department of Environmental Protection
  • Stewart Comstock, Chief, Permit Review Division, Stormwater, Dam Safety, and Flood Management Program, Maryland Dept of Environment
• Industry Panel – moderated by John Ignosh (VT), Siobhan Fathel (PSU)
  Panel discussion with invited speakers from Lightsource BP, Dominion Energy, and Geosyntec. Questions considered will include site selection and management of solar projects. Panelists listed below:
  • Virginia Brown, Director of Ecosystem Services, Lightsource BP
  • Sterling Turner, Environmental Compliance Consultant, Dominion Energy
  • Tim Seldon, Senior Engineer, Geosyntec Consultants
  • Jordan Brooks, Solar Project Manager/Engineer, Kimley-Horn
    

Workshop Recordings:

• Setting the Stage: A brief review of published research and existing stormwater guidance
  Presented by Lauren McPhillips (PSU)
  

• Scale of Development and Transition
  • Footprint and Land Use of Existing Solar Farms in the Chesapeake Region: Michael Evans (Chesapeake Conservancy)
  • Potential Extent of Future Solar Farm Implementation: David Murray (American Clean Power)

• Insights from PV-SMaRT Project
  Presented by David Mulla (University of Minnesota)
  

• Soils and Hydrology of Solar Farms in
  • Midwestern US – Sujith Ravi (Temple University)
  • Central PA – Lauren McPhillips (PSU)

• Regulatory/Permitting Panel – moderated by Tony Buda (USDA)
  • Panelists: Mike Rolband (VA DEQ), Andrew Foley and Domenic Rocco (PA DEP), and Stewart Comstock (MDE)

• Industry Panel – moderated by John Ignosh (VT) and Siobhan Fathel (PSU)
  • Panelists: Virginia Brown (Lightsource BP), Sterling Turner (Dominion Energy), Tim Seldon (Geosyntec Consultants), and Jordan Brooks (Kimley-Horn)

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For more information, please contact Meg Cole, STAC Coordinator, at colem@chesapeake.org.