VCHR: Virginia communities petition authorities to cancel Energix solar projects jeopardizing the Israeli firm's revenues

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Citing the widespread and deceptive practices of Energix Renewable Energies, multiple Virginia communities have petitioned state and municipal authorities to withhold permits from Energix, a foreign company headquartered in Ramat Gan, Israel. Because of this pushback, Energix has been denied permits or forced to withdraw applications in five Virginia counties:

• New Kent Solar
• Helios Solar in Pulaski County
• Racehorse Solar in Caroline County
• Lily Pond Solar in Dinwiddie County
• Westlake Solar in Franklin County

According to one IRmep estimate using 2023 EIA electricity price forecasts, $1.8 billion in 35-year Energix revenue has been stalled or canceled.

To perhaps avoid investor and community backlash, Energix is misleading communities about its track record by filing materially misleading Notices of Intent (NOI) or filing them so late in the state permitting process they raise no stakeholder awareness.

In order to rectify this, the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR) submitted public comments to a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) petition to tighten regulations and to eliminate deficient Notices of Intent (NOI), the document that DEQ suggests must be submitted as soon as practicable in the development process. 

In the lead petition filed by Rockingham County Citizens for Responsible Solar (RCCRS), VCHR also petitioned that future NOI's identify the parent company (Energix) rather than only anonymous LLC shell companies. 

Comments from three counties appeared on the petition:

• Rockingham County residents requested that DEQ cancel the Permit-by-Rule for Endless Caverns North and South because of years of misleading Energix filings. Rockingham petitioners documented how Energix "weaponized" DEQ and municipal orders that mandated mitigation of stormwater runoff. Energix refused to pay the contractor that performed the work resulting in a hefty mechanics lien against the property owners who leased land to Energix.
• RCCRS also claimed that Energix has no plan to manage the estimated 800 pounds of toxic Cadmium e-waste from the solar panels to be placed at both sites.
• Caroline County residents supported a DEQ rule change to require NOIs be submitted before county zoning votes and to prohibit "ghost" LLC filings.
• Carroll County residents stated that Energix, in a public notice published in the Galax Gazette, falsely claimed its River Trail Solar project had already received county approval.

VCHR's Jeanne Trabulsi [email protected] presented a 2022 information overview at the National Press Club in Washington that addressed Energix importation of its worst overseas practices into the U.S. 

SOURCE Virginia Coalition for Human Rights