Sunshine & Soil: Navigating Vegetation Management and Erosion Issues on Mid-Atlantic Solar Sites

Mid-Atlantic Utility Scale Solar sites are posing one of the biggest challenges to regulators and local municipalities when it comes to establishing vegetation and controlling erosion and sediment. Lack of control of these issues have led to increased and turbid stormwater runoff. Bad publicicty from troubled sites have caused rapid reactions to renewable energy projects; and in an extreme case, civil suits awarded to neigboring landowners were more than property values. Understanding the chellenges that stakeholders face on large scale land disturbance projects like these is apparent, and creating sustainable sites are often misunderstood by active parties involved.

Full Abstract: In an era where renewable energy sources like solar power are becoming increasingly vital in our fight against climate change, it's imperative to ensure that their implementation is as sustainable as possible. One often-overlooked aspect of solar energy infrastructure is vegetation management and erosion control on solar sites. Importantly, we'll emphasize the economic advantages of proactive vegetation management and erosion control practices. By investing in sustainable solutions upfront, solar developers can minimize long-term maintenance costs, increase the lifespan of their installations, and demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship, thus enhancing their reputation and appeal to investors and stakeholders.

This presentation details the industry terminology, planning and uses of everyday Erosion Control BMP products for successful use in design and implementation; as well as helping with compliance on erosion & sediment control challenges and problem areas during construction. Also discussed is establishing long term sustainable vegetation as a substantial part of E&SC. While the information could be pertinent to any construction jobsite, the presentation is framed around the growing renewable energy focus of utility scale solar and some of the lessons learned from past challenging sites in the Mid-Atlantic state. Attendees will garner information based on what the speaker has seen in the last decade of working solar developers, EPC's and contractor's on some of the mid-Atlantic's largest solar sites.

The presentation will delve into the importance of integrating thoughtful vegetation management and erosion control strategies into solar site planning and development, tracking it through the construction process and the monitoring through post construction inspections.