I oppose any and all legislation that would allow for control of local , rural farm land by any state agency as relates to solar panel projects. Solar panels are potentially dangerous to farm land and the ground water supply. People with limited knowledge and understanding of rural life and land should not be making decisions concerning our land and its use. We do not want more populated and wealthy areas imposing solar projects on us. A solar project has an estimated life of 35 years but after that the land is sterile and unfit for any agricultural purpose for much longer. I understand that electricity is a necessity but not as much as food and safe drinking water. There must be better safer ways than destroying rural farm land and the associated life style of the residents.

I encourage you to not support HB 711 and HB 891. These two bills infringe on localities rites to site. Both Solar and BESS need to be thoughtfully planned. They are Heavy Industrial sites. They should be in Brown areas and not on prime farm and timber land. The companies are LLCs and can fold up and leave town at any time. Local fire departments are not equipped to handle fires at these sites and the standard is to let them burn. Just look what is ongoing at Moss Landing BESS a year later. It will take a very long time to recovery from that. We have had fires and many DEQ violations here in Virginia. The energy they produce may be “green” but to get to that is not green. Here in Prince George County we had a company that wanted to surround six homes in the middle of the project. Homes should be a mile away from these sites and not 75 to a 100 feet. Every site should be considered locally not by people that do not live here. Roof top is what should be focused on. It needs to be affordable and we should not be penalized from disconnecting from the grid. The electric companies are raising our rates to pay for BESS and Solar while racking in profits. Why are the tax payers penalized while they profit from taking from out rural life. Please do not forget about us.

I oppose this legislation. BESS siting is a land use decision. Land use decisions should be made by local government officials who represent the local people who will have to live with these decisions. BESS is very dangerous due to the risk of fire that is difficult to contain. Local Boards of Supervisors should decide where this industrial equipment is located based upon the characteristic of the local environment. The local BOS are familiar with the natural environment of their localities and are best suited to decide where this industrial equipment is located. Please vote NO.

I am OPPOSED to this legislation. Batteries are an inefficient method of energy storage and compounds the issue of inefficiency when combined with solar panels!

MOSS LANDING is all I should have to say why this bill should be declined! https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16012026/a-year-out-from-one-of-the-worlds-largest-battery-facility-fires/ We have already had Battery Storage and Solar site fires here in Virginia. Rural counties are told to let them burn. They are not equipped to handle LITHIUM BATTERY fires. Once again, proving green is not green. Localities ordinances matter and they do not need to be overwritten by people at the state level. Put them in your back yard and see how it goes! They should only be located in HEAVY INDUSTRIAL ZONED AREAS and not on prime farm and timber land.