Speakers, NextEra Quitman Solar II, Brooks County, GA 2019-08-05 | WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

The speakers against NextEra’s 150 megawatt Quitman II Solar on wooded wetlands were many and eloquent, from the very directly affected Brian Duck surrounded by solar panels to the strategic NextEra’s deadlines are not our deadlines, to the philosophical: Chad Stipe on Heritage and values, and Abigail Pope Sowell on care of the earth as our most pleasing responsibility.

Brian Duck in the wheelchair on the left, about to tell the Commission how he is surrounded by NextEra’s proposed solar panels.

The speakers for let out some stunners, such as Deer will just move –Corey Haines, Biologist, Trees and roads no concern –Atty. Jonathan E. Wells, and Cancel out my wife –George Wallace.

My favorite was the allegedly impartial Daniel Geller of UGA who claimed Georgians import all our energy. I rebutted this by noting my 15 kilowatts of solar panels on my farm workshop, before telling the Commissioners some things they may not have known, about FPL in Florida and Sabal Trail burning in Quitman. Opposition attorney Waters also got Gellar to explicitly say he was not speaking for UGA.

Compliments to the Brooks County Commission for letting everybody who wanted to speak, with no restrictions on where they could be from (unlike Charlton County). There were, however, some irregularities: why did the applicant, NextEra, get so speak both at the beginning of the Public Hearing and after the speakers against the application? Why did SGRC’s Sherry Davidson get to both give a ten-minute summary of the preceding Planning & Zoning meeting (twice as long as allowed to any speaker against), and then get to pop back up like the Pirate Barbossa to say the Comprehensive Plan is more of a guide than rules? Why did the Chair first say no proxies, then let opposition Attorney Jonathan P. Waters speak for three citizens (Brooks County energy corridor, improper application, Comp. Plan is policy of the county), and then clamp down and not permit any more proxies, to the repeated confusion of everyone?

Below are links to each WWALS video of each speaker, followed by a WWALS video playlist. See also Videos: Decision, NextEra Quitman Solar II, Brooks County, GA 2019-08-05.