As the expansion of large solar fields spreads across the United States, rural communities are increasingly opposing these developments. This resistance is driven by a combination of misinformation and legitimate concerns about the loss of open land.
The conflict is particularly prominent in Virginia, a state known for its ambitious clean energy goals and cherished landscapes. Residents, proud of their agrarian heritage, are torn between environmental progress and preserving the state’s natural beauty.
Currently, nearly two-thirds of Virginia’s counties have effective prohibitions on utility-scale solar projects, according to the renewables industry. However, new legislation moving swiftly through Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly aims to change this. The proposed law would prevent outright bans while still allowing local authorities to assess solar projects on a case-by-case basis.
Senate and House versions of the bill have passed in their chambers, with most Democratic support and Republican opposition. Backed by solar developers and an influential government advisory commission on energy policy, the bill is expected to reach Governor Abigail Spanberger’s desk soon.
Despite its progress, the bill has not garnered unanimous support among environmental and climate groups in Virginia, with some conservationists voicing opposition. This highlights the complex dynamics even among those who advocate for clean energy.
Renewables industry representatives recognize that if the bill becomes law, there will still be a need to persuade skeptical local governments about the benefits of solar fields. “This bill is a relative light touch to address solar siting in a way that we hope will result in more projects getting to make their case to a community, while preserving local control,” said Evan Vaughan, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition.
The Rise of Local Solar Pushback in Virginia
Virginia is a prime candidate for utility-scale solar due to its status as the data center capital of the world, where the demand for electricity is surging. Solar energy offers a cost-effective and swift solution to this growing need.
The Virginia Clean Economy Act, enacted in 2020, mandates the state’s utilities to decarbonize by midcentury and targets at least 16 gigawatts of solar and land-based wind farms. Since its adoption, utility-scale solar installations have surged, with the state averaging over 1 gigawatt annually through 2024, as reported by the Solar Energy Industries Association. Virginia ranks ninth in utility-scale solar capacity.
However, local project approvals peaked in 2022 and declined afterward, according to the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition. The coalition reports that 64% of Virginia counties effectively bar large-scale solar through outright bans or impractical restrictions.
For example, Greenville County limits solar to industrial or business properties, while Accomack, Appomattox, and Powhatan counties ban solar on agricultural land. Washington County prohibits solar on land that has been recently clear-cut or is within five miles of an airport.
“Virginia should be an attractive market, and it certainly has attracted a lot of development interests in the past,” Vaughan noted. However, the restrictions have deterred some solar companies, leading them to conclude that Virginia offers limited opportunities.
The slowdown in large solar projects is particularly concerning as electricity rates continue to rise. “Utility-scale solar is still the cheapest source of new electricity generation, period,” Vaughan stated. “So, this difficulty of bringing new solar projects online does have a direct link to affordability.”
A Failed Bill Leads to Compromise
The legislation approaching Governor Spanberger’s desk builds on an earlier measure by Democratic Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, which aimed to eliminate blanket bans and restrictive measures on solar projects while preserving local permitting authority. Although it passed the Senate, it stalled in the House.
VanValkenburg has since revised the proposal to address critics’ concerns. This year’s bill, supported by the state’s Commission on Electric Utility Regulation, seeks to prevent outright and de facto bans while establishing statewide standards for solar farms, including setbacks from roads, wetlands, height limitations, and provisions to curb water pollution during construction. Additionally, solar developers would be required to fund equipment removal and land restoration upon project decommissioning.
“Local governments complained — correctly, by the way — about bad solar projects and bad solar developers coming in,” VanValkenburg explained. The revised legislation provides guidelines for local authorities to avoid such issues.
Original Story at www.canarymedia.com