Solar Energy

Acreage caps Isle of Wight and Surry counties enacted last year to restrict the proliferation of solar farms can stay in place – for now. A House of Delegates subcommittee voted on Feb. 27 to carry over to 2025 a bill that would have nullified locally-imposed bans and limits.

A pair of General Assembly bills, one in the House of Delegates and the other in the Senate, propose allowing the state to overrule county-level rejections of new solar farms. House Bill 636 would create an approval process for projects capable of generating 50 or more megawatts, which would be overseen by the State Corporation.

As Virginia seeks to acquire at least 2.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy to fulfill legally binding decarbonization targets, the bill would require the state to consider a range of bids from offshore wind developers other than Dominion.

Pulaski is also adding solar panels, a methane conversion plant and a focus on green manufacturing in an effort to market itself as a green, 'solar friendly' locality.

A Handbook, produced by Virginia Energy, for developing renewable energy and energy storage facilities on brownfields and previously coal mined lands in Virginia.