Virginia’s Energy Future Moves Forward: Solar Siting Law Strengthens Virginia’s Grid and Ensures Affordable, Reliable Power

Virginia leaders have taken a major step to stabliize rising electricity rates, protect property rights and create new economic opportunities for landowners.

The Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Spanberger enacted SB 347 and HB 711 into law which sets clear statewide standards for local solar ordinances. As demand rises and infrastructure ages, electric bills continue to climb. Solar remains the fastest and least expensive source of new electricity to deploy. The new law ensures officials evaluate projects on their merits while preserving meaningful local control.

MAREC Action led a coalition of renewable energy developers, manufacturers, environmental advocates, and labor leaders in support of HB 711. With the governor’s signature, Virginia now has a more predictable and transparent framework to build affordable energy projects to meet growining demand.

At the same time, no single policy fully resolves the complexity of solar siting. Successful projects will continue to depend on developers working directly with local governments to address community concerns and tailor projects to local conditions.

Virginia faces rising demand and grid reliability challenges that require a range of solutions. Solar is an important part of that mix. Developers can permit and build solar projects far faster than the 7-10 years for fossil or nuclear plants. This law ensures Virginias can choose to use their land for solar projects that generate income and contribute to Virginia’s energy future.

Graphic: CHESSA, Data from PJM

The Problem: Virginia’s Patchwork Approach Hurt Affordability and Reliability

By 2035, Virginia’s power demand could double, and some regions facing a fourfold increase. Rooftop solar or solar on parking lots are several times more expensive than ground-mounted solar. They can play an important role in the electricity mix, but cannot alone solve the affordability challenge. 

Before this new law, 64 percent of Virginia’s counties as shown on the map below, either blocked large-scale solar or imposed restrictive and costly ordinances. Permissive localities did not always sit near transmission or viable project sites.

Conflicting local rules made it difficult to build cost effective projects that keep the lights on. One county welcomed new solar power; the county next door blocked it outright.

Virginia Map Showing Utility Scale Solar Restrictions by Locality

Examples of restrictive local rules included: 

• Accomack, Appomattox and Powhatan Counties banned solar projects on agricultural land, while Goochland County allowed solar only on agricultural land.  

• Amherst County capped projects at 50 acres; Augusta and Floyd counties at 200 acres; Northampton County 220 acres; Highland County at 400 acres and not near other solar projects; Grayson County at 500 acres.

• Greenville County required utility-scale solar to locate on business or industry property, and required all electricity generated to be used on-site.  

• Page County allowed only a 300-acre aggregate cap with no more than 30 acres per facility; King William County imposeed a 1,500 acre cap but required major setbacks.

• Rappahannock County required parcels to be at least 500 acres, limited panel coverage to 10 contiguous acres, required 200 feet of frontage and prohibited development on  prime agricultural land.  

• Washington County banned solar on land clear-cut within five years, or within five miles of an airport.  

These restrictions made it nearly impossible to site new clean energy projects. As a result, cost-effective projects did not move forward, which drove up electric bills and strained grid reliability.

The Solution: Statewide Standards That Maintain Local Control

With the new siting law in place, Virginia now has consistent statewide standards that protect communities and allow local officials to evaluate projects individually.

Under the new law:

• Ground-mounted solar counts as a permitted use – within defined parameters – in certain zoning classifications, including commercial, industrial, institutional, and agricultural districts.
• Each project must still receive a special use permit or siting agreement from local government, which preserves local decision-making.
• Counties retain authority to approve or deny projects case by case.
• Virginia landowners keep the decision on whether to lease their land for solar development

Proven Standards That Protect Communities

The law includes safeguards to ensure projects are responsibly designed and operated:

• • Where projects go: Setbacks from neighbors, homes, and key community sites.
  • How projects look: Fencing, height, lighting, and scenic protections.
  • How land is managed: Soil health, water management, and pollinator-friendly plantings.
  • Responsible cleanup: Mandatory decommissioning plans with funds set aside.

  Local governments may negotiate variances (to be more or less rigorous) as a condition of approving a special use permit or siting agreement. Officials must document project denials, which promotes fairness and transparency.

• The legislation applies to solar-specific ordinances. Local rules that govern all forms of development such as general wetlands protections are not impacted. 

Why Solar Siting Reform Matters

Utility scale solar delivers the cheapest, fastest source of new electricity, even without incentives (see the graph below from the Lazard Report on Levelized Cost of Energy). The cost of electric power from new solar projects has fallen below every other source of electricity, making solar essential to addressing rising energy costs.

Solar panels provide Virginia landowners with predictable income over a 25-30 year lifespan and preserve topsoil for future agricultural use. That income helps families keep farms viable and reduces pressure to sell land for suburban sprawl.

Virginia’s energy future depends on smart, responsibly built solar projects guided by best practices. This reform strengthens the framework for reviewing those projects, while recognizing that thoughtful collaboration between developers and local governments remains essential. With this reform in place, officials can evaluate projects on their merits and deliver lower energy costs, local tax revenue, stronger grid reliability, and cleaner air for all Virginians.

Check out the graph below from the Lazard Report on Levelized Cost of Energy.

Read news coverage about renewable energy siting in Virginia.