ROBERTSON COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — Residents in Franklin are rallying against a proposed 200-megawatt solar project, the Buffalo Meadow Energy Center, and urging county leaders to reconsider tax breaks for the developer.
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On Tuesday, neighbors packed the Robertson County Courthouse to ask leaders to slow down the process. For many neighbors, concerns go beyond money, including property values, water, and safety.
"These decisions are forever. They're not just for right now," a Robertson County resident said.
"We cannot make it easy for these companies to come into our county," another resident said.
"I feel helpless," Robertson County resident Shane Bonnin said.
"If you think you've got the best deal you can make, make it better," a resident said.
"The primary concern is environmentally. It'll have our drinking water. It's a safety concern if they catch on fire because we've been known to have brush fires out here and as hot as they burn, will we have the protection?" Bonnin said.
The developer, Savion Energy, said they are listening to the community.
"To everyone in this room. I want this project to be safe," Brendan Grajewski with Savion Energy said.
County leaders said being at the table is about protection, not approval.
"We can either stay out of the process like we just said or we can engage, so that we can protect our roads, our infrastructure, and our taxpayers," Robertson County Judge Joe David Scarpinato said.
For some residents, that is not enough. Bonnin told 15 ABC he spent decades building his life in the area and now fears losing it.
"They just want to destroy it. I feel like going home and putting a for sale sign in my front yard," Bonnin said.
As the county considers its next move, residents said the outcome will shape their community for generations.
"Hopefully the, the commission will do the right thing, and, we gotta have faith that they will," Bonnin said.
County officials have not made an official decision on the tax abatement yet. Developers from the Buffalo Meadow Energy Center are planning a community meeting for residents to ask questions and share concerns, though a date has not been set.
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