Planning Commission recommends approval of 5 MW solar facility near Gordonsville

More solar panel could be coming to Louisa County. This time, on its western edge. 

The Planning commission on Thursday night voted 5-2 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve Louisa Solar 1, LLC’s request for a Conditional Use Permit to construct and operate an up to 5 MW utility-scale solar array on 44 acres of a 119-acre tract off Kloeckner Road just east of the Louisa-Albemarle line. The mostly forested property is owned by Benjamin Ochs and zoned for agricultural use (A-2). (meeting materials, video)

In a 6-1 vote, the commission also found the project in substantial accordance with the county’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, a determination required by state code. Patrick Henry District Commissioner Ellis Quarles voted against both motions while Jackson District Commissioner Cy Weaver joined him in opposing the CUP. 

Neither Quarles nor Weaver offered specific reasons for why they voted against the request, which was supported by other commissioners who’ve, at times, expressed resistance to large-scale solar development, citing concerns that it’s an industrial use encroaching on the county’s farms and timberland.

Weaver said he “can’t see where the people are gaining anything” from the project, an apparent reference to the relatively modest amount of tax revenue the facility would generate for county coffers. Quarles didn’t comment when casting his votes.

A fiscal impact study by Mangum Economics, conducted on the applicant’s behalf, states that the solar array would generate between $110,200 and $352,000 in local tax revenue during its 35-year lifespan depending on how the county taxes the project. The study says that, under the property’s current agricultural use, it would generate $6,820 in local taxes in the same timeframe. 

Jesse Dimond, a senior solar developer with New Energy Equity, the project’s developer, estimated that a siting agreement would add another roughly $40,000 to county revenue. Siting agreements are essentially deals between localities and solar developers that provide financial compensation to offset a facility’s impact. Details of the proposed agreement haven’t been publicly disclosed. 

If the project wins final approval from the Board of Supervisors, it would be the smallest utility-scale solar facility approved in the county to date and the first included in the state’s shared solar program. Established by the General Assembly in 2020, the program provides residents an opportunity to buy a subscription for solar power via a third-party provider. The power generated at the Kloeckner Road facility would feed Dominion Energy’s distribution system, but Dominion customers could buy a share of the power produced at the facility that’s then credited to their bill. 

“What (shared solar) does is it essentially gives the citizens an opportunity that may not be able to put solar on their home…to subscribe to power that we produce and we meter. Then, we can give that power back as credits to subscribers. We do that at a reduced rate below what Dominion does,” Dimond said. 

Dimond touted the project as a benefit to the community, in part, because of the shared solar program. He said that subscribers could see their power bills decrease by about 10 percent and noted that the facility’s operator is required to sell subscriptions to residents in Louisa and surrounding counties.

At the request of Green Springs District Commissioner Jim Dickerson, Dimond agreed to reach out to staff to explore how the program could be made available to low-income residents in Louisa. State law requires that low-income customers comprise at least 30 precent of the program.

Beyond the benefits of shared solar, Dimond said that the project fits with the character of the neighborhood, contrasting it to large-scale solar arrays that are often situated amid farms and forests. Though the project site is zoned agricultural and adjoins some farmland, it abuts the Gordonsville Growth Area Overlay District and is bordered by a railroad right-of-way and Kloeckner Pentaplast’s manufacturing facility to the east and a Dominion-owned electric generating facility to its southwest. A substation to connect the facility to the grid is adjacent to the property. 

“This site, in my opinion, is about as good a location as you get. You don’t often get to put solar next to other industrial uses. You often see it in a large agricultural area and (panels) are just randomly placed out there,” Dimond said. 

Given the parcel’s surroundings uses and the mature vegetation on site, New Energy is requesting a pair of waivers from the Board of Supervisors to include a 170 and 220-foot setback on parts of the property. Under a revised solar ordinance adopted last year, Louisa County requires utility-scale solar facilities to include a 300-foot setback with an opaque vegetative buffer, but the board can grant a waiver that reduces the setback if certain conditions are met.   

Commissioners didn’t address the waiver request, but they did discuss the vegetative buffer, which will include a mix of existing vegetation and supplemental plantings. Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin suggested that the CUP include an additional provision requiring the applicant to submit a buffer plan crafted by a certified arborist to help ensure the buffer’s health and longevity. He observed that county officials should get out of “the business of pretending we know anything about trees.” The commission and the applicant agreed to the provision. 

Neighboring property owner Tom Gilbert was the only community member to speak during Thursday’s public hearing. Gilbert said that he initially had “a lot of concerns” about the project, but New Energy tweaked its design and made other modifications that largely addressed them. 

Gilbert said that he would like to see the parcel remain in agricultural use even as it accommodates solar panels, suggesting that the commission include a condition in the CUP requiring the project’s operator to graze sheep on the property.

Dimond said earlier in the meeting that the company intended to use sheep to manage vegetation within the 22 fenced-in acres of solar panels, noting that New Energy has offered Gilbert an opportunity to graze his sheep there. The grazing plan isn’t required by the CUP. 

Goodwin asked Dimond how his company planned to ensure that the sheep don’t eat the pollinator-friendly plantings that are required by county code to cover 10 percent of the site. Dimond said that he’s “new to sheep,” but would bring Goodwin’s question back to the team working on the project. 

The application’s next stop is a public hearing in front of the Board of Supervisors. At publication time, the county had not advertised a date for the hearing.