HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.1 - Dave Maurer - Great concern over the Solar Farm Proposed for the SkywayFrom:dave@soundsbydave.net
To:Clerk of the Board
Subject:Great concern over the Solar Farm Proposed for the Skyway
Date:Thursday, October 22, 2026 3:45:24 PM
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My name is Dave Maurer. I live in Spanish Gardens, which is directly
adjacent to the proposed North Chico Solar Farm. My greatest concern,
aside from the absolute destruction it will bring to our natural
environment, is the history of disasters caused by lithium-ion
batteries.
The Moss Landing fire, which occurred over two years ago, recently
reignited and is now subject to the largest EPA environmental cleanup in
EPA history. Further, the study that was commissioned to research what
caused the fire has still not been released to the public. Independent
studies by San Jose University discovered deposits of “forever”
chemicals in soil tests.
500,000 solar panels are a pretty big target for a lightning strike, or
an EMP surge caused by current induced in an electrically charged
atmosphere short of a direct strike. Or even a solar flare. LAVA ROCK
(which is what the proposed site consists of) DOES NOT PROVIDE A GOOD
GROUND. In fact, it is an insulator. So, from a technical perspective,
they could not have picked a worse location.
Surge protectors and other protective electrical systems depend on good
grounding. Even if you buy all of the best UL-approved equipment, they
won’t work without a GOOD GROUND TO EARTH. When these “protective
systems” fail, the surge hits the lithium-ion batteries and triggers a
thermal runaway that can result in internal fires exceeding 900 degrees.
The big batteries are just hundreds of smaller battery cells wired
together, so when one goes, they can all go in a chain reaction. And
when they burn, you can’t put them out with water. If you try, the gases
emitted from the burning lithium-ion cells include hydrogen fluoride
(among many other deadly FOREVER chemicals), which, when mixed with
water, becomes hydrofluoric acid.
Hydrogen fluoride is a colorless gas or liquid that can cause severe
damage to the body. It goes easily and quickly through skin and tissue.
It can bind to body calcium, cause fatal amounts of fluid on the lungs,
and even cause cardiac arrest.
The proposal in front of you would put 130 industrial-sized (20 ft. × 8
ft. × 8 ft.) lithium-ion batteries directly across the Skyway from the
entrance to Spanish Gardens, where I live, which is adjacent to the
California State, Butte Creek Wildlife Refuge.
When the wind blows, it is usually south to north, which would
potentially poison the entire area and shut down Skyway, the main
evacuation road off the ridge.
P.S. Most of the lithium batteries are MADE IN CHINA, and we all know
nothing ever goes wrong with things made in China.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Dave Maurer