A solar array planned for Rowan-Cabarrus Community College comes back to the Salisbury Planning Board today.

After a public hearing on the proposed solar array in March, the Planning Board sent the issue to a committee for further review after nearby residents voiced concern and opposition to the plans. The college is requesting the land the array would sit on be rezoned to allow for solar panels.

Preston Mitchell, city planning manager, said the committee will recommend approval of the request to the full board.

The board meets today at 4 p.m. at City Hall.

The college wants to build a one-megawatt solar array, which is being funded by a private donor, on land along Old Concord Road. The solar array would be used to provide approximately 35-40 percent of the college’s energy needs.  The land is about 4.5 acres in size and on the other side of Old Concord Road from a subdivision on Stone Ridge Drive.

People who live in the neighborhood, and another one farther up Old Concord Road, said they’re against the solar array because it will hurt their property values. Others said they simply didn’t want to have solar panels visible from their home. And some people said they don’t want the land rezoned from residential to institutional campus, which is what the college is requesting.

If built, the array would have to be set back from the road 250 feet. And there would also have to be a buffer zone — trees — installed so the panels are hidden from view from the road. The panels would face south.

As a condition for approval, the committee will suggest additional buffering be installed on the south side of the array.

Health concerns were another reason people said they don’t want the array built near their home.

Residents were worried about the possibility of groundwater contamination from the solar array. But Jeff Deal, with the Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy, told the board in March he is not aware of any peer-reviewed studies showing groundwater contamination from solar arrays.

Also, some residents were concerned that some solar panels contain cadmium, a heavy metal that’s a known carcinogen. But Deal also said this was a non-issue that can be dealt with at the end of a solar panel’s lifespan — 30 to 35 years in the case of the array planned for RCCC. He said there are safe ways to recycle cadmium and other heavy metals.

Many household electronics, like TVs and computers, contain heavy metals, Deal said, adding that the interior parts of a solar panel are protected by an aluminum frame.

During the meeting, the full board will be able to discuss the committee’s recommendation and could seek further input from the public.

Contact Reporter David Purtell at 704-797-4264.