RIDGECREST, N.C. — Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center has withdrawn from a project that would have created one of North Carolina’s largest solar energy projects because of the amount of land required.
Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center is about 20 miles east of Asheville.
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The conference center, about 20 miles east of Asheville, was considering leasing “five to six acres” to AMENERGY for a solar panel pilot project. Had the pilot been successful, the Santa-Fe, N.M.-based renewable energy company ultimately envisioned leasing an additional 200 acres for a $65 million project. More than 90,000 panels would have generated up to 21.5 megawatts of direct current to be sold to a power company.
But in a brief press release from LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention — which owns and operates Ridgecrest — the center’s executive director was quoted as saying it is no longer interested in participating in the project.
The “discovery process” indicated the project will require significantly more land and generate less revenue, Byron Hill said in the press release. He added that land dedicated to the project would have “severely limited” options for the conference center’s future expansion.
Late last year, North Carolina’s utilities commission had received complaints about the project’s eventual impact on the environment and scenic views. State environmental officials had reported no major concerns, but the utilities commission had received three complaints, ranging from interrupted mountain views to displacement of animals and plants.
Robert Dilday (rdilday@religiousherald.org) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.