Needville community concerned about thousands of busted solar panels
NEEDVILLE, Texas - There are several solar farms in the Needville area spanning more than 10,000 acres.
Some are up and running while others are being constructed.
Nearby residents were concerned before the panels were installed.
"It was a hailstorm like we've never seen before," said Nick Kaminski who lives near the solar farms.
The 4,000-acre solar farm called Fighting J's near his Needville area home took a beating during hailstorms on March 16.
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When he first saw the damage, Kaminski says he was shocked.
He was one of the residents worried about the environmental impact before the solar farms were built.
"That's correct. I was worried about it," Kaminski said.
Nick showed us emails he sent to Fort Bend County Commissioners, the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, and the owners of Fighting J's Solar Farm asking for the environmental impact report.
"We've asked for the same studies, and we've been treated the same way," said Mikes Fugua who also lives near the solar farms. "We got nothing out of them."
"My concern is the hail damage that came through and busted these panels we now have some highly toxic chemicals that could be potentially leaking into our water tables," said Kaminski
"There's numerous makeup in the chemicals on this thing," Fugua said. "The majority of them are cancer-causing."
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It's Kaminski's worst nightmare come true.
"I have a family two children and a wife," he said. "My neighbors have kids and a lot of other residents in the area who are on well water are concerned that the chemicals are now leaking into our water tables."
"We've got livestock that have to drink it. We have to bath, drink, all that good stuff," said Fugua. "It's a big concern,"
We asked Fighting J's Solar Farm for a comment, but we haven't heard back.
Test results on the soil and water are pending.