Bunker Solar

In 2021, our team brought together a coalition of three neighbors who owned the 260-acre site where Bunker Solar sits, local environmental groups like the Sierra Club, and labor unions to build support for the project by holding office hours and knocking on doors. The site is not in a rural area, which meant our team needed to gather input from nearby neighbors. With over 50 houses within 200 feet of the site, we made adjustments to the plan to incorporate their input, including developing a plan to use native pollinating species to screen the edges of the project.

Our outreach paid off at the County Zoning Board of Appeals hearing, as supporters filled the room to testify in favor of the project. Norma Stuckey, one of the landowners who worked for over 40 years as a labor and delivery room nurse, spoke about how the project would help provide security for future generations of her family.

The board unanimously approved the zoning permit in 2022. The project will bring nearly $40 million in property taxes over the lease period and invest $28 million in local labor.