Mecklenburg says no to future large solar projects

It’s lights out for future large solar projects in Mecklenburg County.

The county’s board of supervisors voted unanimously April 14 to remove utility-scale solar projects as an allowable land use, allowing three projects in the application pipeline to continue seeking approval before closing the window to future developments.

The move comes as Mecklenburg, like several other rural Virginia localities, has pushed back on solar development, calling the projects a blight on rural land that has led to runoff in waterways and complaining that promised financial benefits either haven’t come to fruition or aren’t worthwhile. Legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that would have curtailed attempts by localities to limit solar development — seen as essential in reaching state carbon-free electricity mandates while also helping power the state’s massive data center industry — failed earlier this year.

Mecklenburg Supervisor David Brankley, whose district includes three solar projects that are either already in operation or nearing completion, says his constituents overwhelmingly oppose more solar developments after bad experiences with two projects, saying they’re unsightly.

“They just hadn’t got the panels in sync,” Brankley says. “It looks like a mess.”

Mecklenburg set a cap on solar development at 2,325 acres in 2023, and with three projects already approved totaling more than half of that, the county has room for only two of the three proposed solar projects — which each hover around 500 acres — before maxing out. In late April, the planning commission denied one of those projects, Antlers Road Solar, proposed by Texas-based RWE Clean Energy, saying it didn’t comply with its comprehensive plan.

RWE has sued the county over a previous application rejection, though no actions have gone forward, says Mecklenburg Administrator Alex Gottschalk. RWE declined to comment.

Another project, 7 Bridges Solar, a proposed 80-megawatt solar farm by Boston-based Longroad Energy, was rejected by county super- visors in a May 12 vote.

Mecklenburg’s diverse economy — among its largest employers is VCU Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill — means it doesn’t need to rely on solar farms for revenue, says Gottschalk. Mecklenburg is also home to the popular John H. Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston.

“Those lakes have provided us with a stronger and more substantial real estate base than other communities have had, and it’s also provided us with more tourism and more consumer-based spending,” he says.