A public hearing on a proposal to build a 600-acre solar farm adjacent to Terra Ceia Christian School was preceded by a prayer vigil Wednesday evening by opponents of the solar farm.

After the prayers outside the Beaufort County Courthouse, the testimony began inside the courthouse.

During the hearing, the opponents, who testified under oath, said a solar farm next to the school presented potential health risks to students, teachers and others at the school. They also said the solar farm would take rich, fertile farmland out of production and likely result in the school’s enrollment dropping. They also complained they only learned of the proposed solar farm about a month ago, giving them little time to prepare for the hearing.

They asked the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which conducted the hearing, to not issue a permit needed for the proposed solar farm.

Wilkinson Solar LLC filed an application with the North Carolina Utilities Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to build a 74-megawatt solar photovoltaic electric generating facility to be located on about 600 acres of land on the south side of Terra Ceia Road, between Vreugdenhil Road and Christian School Road and the north side of Terra Ceia Road, east of Christian School Road, in Beaufort County. The company also filed for registration of the facility as a new renewable energy facility that would interconnect with the electric transmission system owned by Dominion North Carolina Power.

The company plans to begin construction of the facility in January 2018, with the expected commercial operation date being as early as Dec. 31, 2018. The expected service life of the facility is 25 or more years.  Wilkinson Solar would need other permits issued by the state before it could build and operate the facility.

Three of the commission’s members — ToNola Brown-Bland, James G. Patterson and Lyons Gray — conducted the hearing, with Brown-Bland serving as chairwoman. Brown-Bland said the testimony given Wednesday was the first phase of a two-phase hearing. The second phase, testimony and evidence presented by experts, takes place at 2 p.m. Monday in Raleigh, she said.

Members of the commission’s public staff (an independent agency that works with consumers who have complaints against utilities) and representatives of Invenergy, parent company of Wilkinson Solar attended the meeting, sometimes asking questions of the approximately 15 people who spoke in opposition to the solar farm.

Harrison T. Godfrey, Invenergy’s manager for state government affairs in the eastern United States, said Monday’s hearing would provide information related to opponents’ concerns about the solar farm posing health and environmental hazards. Experts who have knowledge of solar farms’ effects on health and the environment will provide that information.

Alan Meijer, president of the school’s board of directors, said, “Permitting the installation of the proposed photovoltaic facility is simply reprehensible given the immediate proximity of a K through 12 school and the potential harm to students and property at the school and the topography, drainage and soil qualities of the site. The safety of my children, as well of all the others, as well as that of the staff, which includes my wife, is my primary concern.”

Jennifer Skvarla, who helped defeat the Navy’s plan to build an outlying landing field in eastern North Carolina, said installation of the solar panels would sound the death knell for the school. She also said the proposed site for the solar facility should remain rich, fertile farmland that produces crops, not become home to solar panels that could pose health hazards not yet known.

“I assure you, you will have a battle you cannot believe,” she said to Wilkinson Solar representatives.

Catherine Meijer, a senior at the school, said she worries a solar farm next to the school would lower enrollment at the school and destroy the influence the school has on the community. With a reduced enrollment, the school might not be able to survive, she said.

Parents of Terra Ceia Christian School students, school employees and others have submitted written comments concerning the proposed solar farm.

In testimony given at a proceeding several days before the hearing, April Montgomery, the principal of REAP, a development-services firm, said she provided outreach services for Wilkinson Solar. Those services included talking with property owners who live close to the proposed solar farm site about their concerns with the proposed project.

According to Montgomery’s testimony, Beaufort County issued a permit, as required by a county ordinance, for the project March 23. That ordinance spells out setback and landscaping requirements for such projects.

Montgomery addressed concerns about the solar farm resulting in a loss of farmland. “Specific to Beaufort County, the 2012 Census of Agriculture by the United States Department of Agriculture found that there were 148,286 acres in Beaufort County being used for farmland. This approximately 600 acre project accounts for only about 0.4% of Beaufort County farmland. In addition, after the useful life of the project has passed and the project is decommissioned, the land can return to agricultural production,” reads a transcript of her testimony.