Latest News
Industrial solar mega projects failures and what could be in store for the James River
Thanks to Scott Flood for this article and keeping us alert to these pressing concerns. On November 14, 2022, EPA and DOJ announced 1.34 million in settlements to resolve Clean Water Act violations at four large-scale solar construction sites in Alabama, Idaho and...
DRILLING FOR GOLD OpEd Column: Gold mining in Virginia has the makings of an environmental disaster by Jessica Sims
In 2020, Buckingham County residents discovered that a mineral exploration company, Aston Bay, had been performing exploratory drilling for gold in their county since the previous year. Why had Aston Bay looked to Virginia as a prospecting location for new,...
Newsletter #155: Buckingham campaign to stop gold mining forges on
Media articles on State Gold Study Final Report Release
On December 2, the State Agency Committee (SAC), tasked with the study of large-scale gold mining and the industry’s potential impacts on communities and their watersheds in Virginia released its public report “Potential Impacts of Gold Mining and Processing in the...
News
Join Us!
Membership is free. Support us by adding your name and make a contribution, as you wish. United we can be effective. We stopped the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. We supported the ban on cyanide in metalic mining. We can’t do with without you!
The mission of the Friends of Buckingham is to protect the natural environment and cultural heritage of Buckingham County.
Our Friends
Virginia Environmental Coalition
The Virginia Environmental Coalition is hyper focused on bringing awareness to the Valley Link Joshua Falls to Yeat 765 kv Transmission Power Line.
Piedmont Environmental Center
Protecting and restoring the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities.
Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a team of more than 120 legal and policy experts working in nine offices across six states and in Washington D.C.
Problems with Industrial-scale Solar
Solar News
Watch the webinar from Friends of Buckingham, recorded April 25, 2025, to learn from a panel of experts about the Dark Side of Industrial-Scale Solar. Please share this widely.
Earth Month –
The Dark Side of Industrial-Scale Solar
Industrial-Scale Solar in Spotsylvania County, VA
(Photo by Hugh Kenny. The Piedmont Environmental Council)
Solar energy must not come at the expense of nature or communities. But that is what is happening in Buckingham and across Virginia as industrial solar projects replace our forests and working lands.
- Deforestation and bulldozing that forever changes the land.
- Wildlife destroyed and habitats lost.
- Waterways harmed.
- Erosion and sediment to wetlands and waterways.
- Largest land-use change ever.
- Enormous industrial projects inserted into rural communities.
- Forestry and forestry dependent jobs lost.
We must change course. We must save our forests and working lands by putting large-scale solar projects in the built-world. Places like parking lots, rooftops, brownfields, and already developed lands. Read more about the solar issues of our times.
Scott Flood, president of Friends of Buckingham, speaking at our 10th anniversary celebration.
Celebrating 10 Years of Successes
The Friends of Buckingham
10-year anniversary celebration and annual meeting
November 16, 2024
Use this link to watch the slide show of our many accomplishments from the past year.
(The show has many photos and may load slowly.)
Stopping the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
After more than seven years fighting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, we WON!
Read about our successful efforts to protect the natural wonders of Virginia.
Media Center
Chris Landry’s documentary, Not On This Land, focuses on bout the remarkable people who stopped the Atlantic Coast Pipeline from being built.
Ben Price presents to the Buckingham Board of Supervisors 11/15/22: Adopt both a rights-based ordinance to protect our freedom from toxic trespass and a land-use ordinance. Start at 16:50. Stay on for our awesome public comments.