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An onslaught of hail in southeastern Texas that destroyed giant parts of a large photo voltaic farm is highlighting the perils of buying and selling conventional energy sources for weak “inexperienced” alternate options and sparking concern concerning the potential for chemical leaks from the damaged panels.
Aerial footage captured the numerous harm suffered by the Combating Jays Photo voltaic farm in Fort Bend County, Texas. The March 15 storm shattered lots of of panels and prompted a close-by resident to query if the photo voltaic panels have been leaking chemical compounds corresponding to cadmium telluride, which is linked to critical well being dangers in people.
“My concern is the hail harm that got here by means of and busted these panels – we now have some extremely poisonous chemical compounds that might be doubtlessly leaking into our water tables,” Needville resident Nick Kaminski informed Fox affiliate KRIV-TV. “I’ve a household – two youngsters and a spouse. My neighbors have children and a number of different residents within the space who’re on properly water are involved that the chemical compounds are actually leaking into our water tables.”
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Photographs captured by Fox affiliate FOX26 Houston KRIV present intensive harm to Combating Jays Photo voltaic in Fort Bend County, Texas. (FOX26 Houston KRIV)
The Fort Bend County Environmental Well being Division is investigating the incident and the Texas Fee on Environmental High quality has additionally been contacted relating to any potential chemical contamination, Needville Mayor Chad Nesvadba informed Fox Information Digital. Fort Bend County officers did not reply to a number of requests for remark.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, represents the group surrounding the photo voltaic farm and is engaged with these whose properties, companies and property have been destroyed by the storm, based on spokesperson Emily Matthews, who famous the incident underscores the significance of an “all-of-the-above” strategy to vitality coverage.
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“So far as photo voltaic farms being broken the place hail and tornadoes are frequent, these firms knowingly run the chance of constructing photo voltaic panel farms in these areas,” Matthews informed Fox Information Digital. “Occasions like this underscore the significance of getting an all-of-the-above vitality strategy to satisfy our vitality wants and showcase how our nation can’t solely depend on or totally transition to renewable vitality sources like this.”
Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Companions, the dad or mum firm of the Combating Jays Photo voltaic undertaking’s developer, AP Photo voltaic Holdings, confirmed the storm had taken out a lot of the farm, however there was at present no threat to the close by group of chemical publicity.
Native resident Nick Kaminski pictured throughout an interview with Fox affiliate FOX26 Houston KRIV. (FOX26 Houston KRIV)
“On March fifteenth, a hailstorm prompted photo voltaic panel harm to Combating Jays Photo voltaic, a 350 MW undertaking positioned in Fort Bend County, Texas,” CIP informed Fox Information Digital in a press release. “We’re at present assessing the extent of the affect of the storm on the era of the undertaking, whereas the plant continues to soundly function at a diminished capability.”
It added: “The silicon-based panels comprise no cadmium telluride and we now have recognized no threat to the area people or the surroundings.”
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The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the state’s energy grid, mentioned it was conscious of the scenario, however had not recognized any grid reliability considerations. The Texas Public Utilities Fee added that it has but to obtain any experiences concerning the incident.
Nonetheless, Daniel Turner, the chief director of vitality watchdog group Energy the Future, mentioned the storm’s affect might foreshadow future threats to the U.S. energy grid if the nation transitions to a heavy reliance on photo voltaic vitality.
Rep. Troy Nehls, chairman of the Home Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Supplies, throughout a June 6, 2023, listening to. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Photographs)
“There’s this monumental shell recreation occurring by the Biden administration, by the environmental left, presenting wind and photo voltaic as completely inexperienced, clear, and carbon-neutral,” Turner informed Fox Information Digital. “They use all of those buzzwords. However they’re none of that they usually even have monumental drawbacks. And it is doing the American folks a fantastic disservice to obfuscate these very apparent shortcomings.”
He famous that, as a result of photo voltaic panels are largely manufactured in China, the destruction of photo voltaic farms might be leveraged in geopolitical disputes between the U.S. and China.
“Why would we count on them to race to our assist when our grid is down nationwide, and they’re those holding the products that we have to get again up?” Turner mentioned.
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Combating Jays Photo voltaic got here on-line in July 2022 and spans greater than 3,000 acres, based on AP Photo voltaic Holdings. It’s positioned about 40 miles from downtown Houston.
The destruction of the undertaking, in the meantime, comes because the nation broadly races to switch current fossil gas energy with inexperienced vitality alternate options. However these plans have been criticized by specialists who warn of these vitality sources’ reliance on sure windy and sunny climate situations.
Hail in Texas cripples huge photo voltaic farm, sparking resident fears about tech
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