Intensive Archaeological Survey for the Soleil Solar Project

Soleil Solar Project - Clay County, Texas

Chronicle Heritage was contracted by Cypress Creek Renewables to conduct an archaeological survey of the proposed Soleil Solar project in Clay County, Texas. The project required Clean Water Act Permitting through the Army Corps of Engineers, which triggered a Section 106 review.

Project Overview:

Chronicle Heritage conducted an archaeological survey of two separate Areas of Potential Effects (APEs), each approximately 28 acres.

The proposed project area was over 4,000 acres, but the APEs were limited to areas of proposed impacts to Waters of the United States (WOTUS), and a 300-foot buffer.

A cut bank profile shows a truncated A horizon overlying a bright orange subsoil horizon. Archaeologists use profiles like this to obtain a better understanding of the stratigraphy across a site. In this case, the profile shows that a significant amount of topsoil has been removed, probably as a result of a long history of cattle grazing in the area.

Soleil Solar Project, Clay County, Texas - A standard shovel test pit from the site — A standard shovel test pit from the site.

Soleil Solar Project, Clay County, Texas - A creek running through the site — A creek running through the site.

Project Activities Included:

Prior to initiating fieldwork, background research on the APEs was conducted using sources available online. These sources included the Texas Archeological Sites Atlas, Texas GLO records, historical topographic maps, and aerial images.
Intensive pedestrian survey
Excavation of 76 shovel test pits (STPs)
- Cattle were present in the APE during survey
- Because of the limited potential for deeply buried cultural deposits within the APEs, no trenching was deemed necessary for the survey

Compliance:

The Survey conformed to the standards set forth by the Council of Texas Archeologists and adopted by the Texas Historical Commission in 2020.

Additional Information

Client

Cypress Creek Renewables

Location

Clay County, Texas

Sector

Energy Generation and Transmission

Service

Archaeological Surveys

Principal Investigator

John Gorcyzk, Texas Team Lead

Results at a Glance:

Chronicle Heritage did not record any isolated finds but recorded one new site, an early-mid-20th century utility line that cuts through the western APE parcel. The transmission line has been modernized and lacks integrity and is recommended ineligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or as a Texas State Antiquities Landmark
Several iron posts and crossbars, possibly the remains of oil drilling infrastructure, were also noted within the APE
Based on the results of the survey, Chronicle Heritage recommended a finding of No Effect to Historic Properties, and no further work was recommended.

“Working on the Soleil Solar Project gave us an opportunity to contribute to the nationwide project of transitioning to clean energy sources for the future. The project area itself exemplified this shift: it was previously used as an oil field for the extraction of fossil fuels. Long since given over to cattle grazing, the project area will once again be used to generate electricity for Clay County and beyond. We also recorded the remains of an early 20th century transmission line, which played an important role in the early electrification of rural Texas, and which remains in use in a modernized form today.”
– John Gorcyzk, Principal Investigator

Services