What to do about utility scale solar in Orange County?

The county has wrestled with three solar proposals since late 2023 – one denied by the Board of Supervisors, one pulled by the applicant, and the third, Sunfish Solar, scheduled for the supervisors’ meeting on August 27. During this time, discussion has continued within the county government about how to handle non-rooftop, commercial/industrial solar project proposals. A recap:

• The Planning Commission drafted and voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that would outline considerations related to environmental, agricultural, historic, cultural and county resources when siting public utility facilities, including solar projects. Read the draft amendment here: https://orangecountyva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6115/CPA-24-01-draft-2-16-24?bidId=
  

• The commission held a public hearing on the draft amendment and voted to recommend approval. However, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the draft amendment, then tabled the amendment indefinitely.
  

• The Board of Supervisors then asked the Planning Commission to draft an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that would effectively prohibit commercial and industrial-scale solar in all zoning districts and would also define accessory solar uses. The Planning Commission drafted the language, then voted 4-1 at their July 18 meeting to recommend denial of the proposed language to the Board.

Despite the PC’s recommendation of denial, the Board still could approve the language. If the Board does not approve the Zoning Ordinance amendment, the county is back at square one with no solar-related guidance in place. The Zoning Ordinance amendment (ZTA 24-01 “Solar uses”) has not yet been added to a Board agenda. Read the text of the amendment here: https://orangecova.portal.civicclerk.com/event/369/files/attachment/3680

The commissioners who voted to recommend denial of the Zoning Ordinance amendment seemed to have a few concerns:

1) an outright prohibition of utility scale solar could draw negative attention from green agenda lawmakers in Richmond, some of whom attempted to remove county control over the review  process during the last legislative session.

2) the contradiction of prohibiting solar while by-right use for residential development also consumes acres of farm land.

3) The prohibition as written would include community and shared solar.

During the July 18 meeting, the Planning Commission indicated that they are willing to continue to discuss options for managing the utility scale solar issue and that the topic will be part of their  August 15 meeting (no agenda as of this writing).

There is a third option for managing utility scale solar in the county: creation of a solar ordinance. This has been suggested by citizens during their public comments.

One supervisor previously expressed concern that a solar ordinance would not be enough, that it would basically allow solar developers to check the boxes and get their projects approved. True, there would be the potential for project approval, but that potential for approval exists now without any parameters in place.

Developing a solar ordinance would define what is and what is not allowed in Orange County. Even if a proposed project met the ordinance requirements, it would not be approved by-right, but would still have to be in compliance with the comprehensive plan and pass Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor review.

Orange County needs to define parameters for utility scale solar projects to guide siting, development, operations, and decommissioning. Without any guidelines in place, Orange County cannot effectively respond to citizens' concerns about utility scale solar and protect its environmental, agricultural, historic and cultural assets.

Selected county solar ordinances:

Visit https://www.citizensforresponsiblesolar.org/solar-ordinance to read approved ordinances for Madison and Culpeper counties.

Visit https://shenandoahalliance.org/project/page-county-solar-ordinance/

to read about Page County's road to finalizing a solar ordinance.

Next steps:

-Attend or watch online the Planning Commission’s August 15 meeting to follow their continuing discussion of solar.

-Weigh in with your opposition to Sunfish Solar via email, phone call or letter prior to the Board of Supervisors meeting on August 27, as well as during the meeting’s public comment period.

-When the Zoning Ordinance proposal ZTA-24-01 discussed above is placed on the Board’s agenda, email and/or attend the meeting with your comments.