NEWTON COUNTY — The Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) has given the official go-ahead for a solar farm to be built on 139 acres in District 2.

At their Tuesday, July 1 meeting, commissioners considered a petition by applicant Nicholas Ham, vice president of engineering and operations at Green Power EMC, to grant a conditional use permit for the farm’s operation. According to the commissioners’ agenda packet, the purpose for the permit request was “to develop a 40-megawatt, AC, ground-mounted solar energy facility.”

The project is being undertaken by Green Power EMC, a partner of Snapping Shoals EMC.

Chris Wood, vice president of external affairs and economic development at Snapping Shoals, offered the board some clarity on their relationship to this project. He said that Green Power EMC was created in 2001 in partnership with 37 other EMCs in an effort to pursue green sources of energy.

“When you talk about Green Power, you’re talking about Snapping Shoals,” Wood said. “They are an entity that finds and provides green resources of energy for all of the EMCs of Georgia, and we have that partnership with them. So they were taking the lead of this project, but I wanted to assure the homeowners – Snapping Shoals is a neighbor to this project.”

The proposed location of the farm is in western Newton County, near Brown Bridge Road, Magnet Road and Wilson Road, with the entry point to the property being 459 Magnet Rd.

The property is currently owned by Jolley’s Dairy Farm Inc., and it is made up of 332 acres. However, only 139 of the acres would be utilized for the solar facility.

A solar energy facility was not the first proposed use of the land. In September 2022, the planning commission approved a preliminary plat for 261 lots to create a subdivision. The following August, the planning commission approved a revised plat that lowered the lot count to 134, but the plan remained for a subdivision.

That plat expired, and the new applicant has submitted the conditional use permit request to create the solar farm there instead.

An “open house style” community meeting was held on May 21. Reportedly, 30 community members came to the meeting to ask questions and express their concerns.

On numerous occasions, nearby residents had raised an array of concerns, including fears about property values, risk to landscaping and wildlife, health risks, effects on wetlands and more. This came to a head on June 24, when the planning commission recommended denying the conditional use permit 3-1.

“At the planning commission meeting, these concerns were raised again, and the applicant had the opportunity to address them,” said Shena Applewhaite, director of development services. “And they have since sent in updated site plans to address those concerns by moving the buffers all the way to 100 feet around the entire project.”

Applewhaite shared that the applicant has stated that an estimated 60 percent of the trees will stay, wetlands will not be impacted and that best management practices will be implemented. She noted that the county does have a solar energy ordinance that dictates requirements for solar energy systems. It includes specifications, including required visual buffer, lighting, tree removal, decommissioning and abandonment.

“There are required setbacks,” Applewhaite said. “The minimum setbacks are 25 feet…so they are going beyond what is required by the ordinance."

Applewhaite also added that the buffer on the south side of the nearby Trotter’s Walk subdivision was initially 50 feet, and after hearing resident concerns, the applicant increased the buffer.

This agenda item sparked at least a dozen citizen commenters. Ten citizens spoke at the initial public comment opportunity, taking both favorable and oppositional stances. Five opted to speak during the public hearing itself, with some even taking advantage of both opportunities.

Resident Scott McMillen was one of several nearby residents who expressed a supportive opinion about the future of the property. 

“It’s the lesser of two evils, people don't understand, it seems like,” McMillen said, who lives near the proposed site. “They think this is the end of the world. If it ain't going to be solar farms, one day we all know it's going to be a track home subdivision in there. And if this deal falls through, the next person might be a huge track builder…and there’s going to be nothing but houses and there’s going to be more crime.”

Others gave their support, including Lanier Sims. Sims specifically offered support in his capacity as chair of the government affairs committee with the Newton County Chamber of Commerce and the chairman of the Newton County Industrial Development Authority.

Sims also spoke about his time serving as interim chair of the BOC in late 2024 and his personal stance as a District 2 resident. 

“Nine months ago when I sat in that center chair as interim chair, Snapping Shoals and Green Power reached out to me as chairman at that time,” Sims said. “...I appreciated them reaching out first. A lot of time, projects go through the process before electives are even involved, so I appreciated them starting that process early on.”

While some were in favor of the development, not all of the commenters felt the same.

“The homeowners and the residents have nothing against solar energy,” said Donna Yopp, a resident of the adjacent subdivision. “But we totally disagree with this being constructed in our subdivision within the 25 to 100 feet around our homes, cause it’s at our back doors…I understand Jolley wants to sell their land and everything, but this is not at their back door. They’re totally not going to be affected by where this plant is potentially going in.”

“I would not want this in my backyard. I don’t think any of you all would,” said John Clemens. “And I believe if you were living in this [neighboring] subdivision, you’d probably have something to say about it also.”

After considering input from the planning commission’s recommended denial and a plethora of citizen commenters present, the BOC ultimately voted unanimously to approve the conditional use permit. The motion to approve was made by District 2 Commissioner Demond Mason.

“Initially, I was going to say — I thought it was going to be best to basically table this and maybe have another town hall,” Mason said, who made the motion to approve. “But based off of the data that I’ve heard, the calls that I’ve received, the text messages, the emails, I believe, as of today, that I move that we approve [the conditional use permit].”

District 1 Commissioner Stan Edwards, who was quick to second Mason’s motion to approve, said that if lived near the property, he knew what he’d want.

“I live on acreage in the southeastern part of our county, and behind me is a hundred acres that I do not own, that I do not control,” Edwards said. “If I had the option of high-density homes and a hundred-acre solar farm, I’d pick the solar farm all day long. So there’s no doubt for me – this is protecting this community, I believe.”