County could net millions for solar

Published 12:00 pm Thursday, June 30, 2022

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A decision on an 800-megawatt solar facility destination for the county could come as soon as next Tuesday, July 5, during a meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

If agreed upon, the decision would net the county a half million dollars this year alone.

Supervisors are scheduled to hold a public hearing on a siting agreement between Dominion Energy and the county and discuss the Randolph Solar Project’s Conditional Use Permit application (CUP).

According to county documents, Dominion Energy will purchase the project from developer SolUnesco within 30 days of the CUP being approved.

According to the siting agreement, Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to begin in 2025, with a completion date in 2027. Phase 1 will include the construction of 300 megawatts.

Another 300 megawatts will be under construction in 2026, with a completion date of 2029.

The final 200 megawatts are scheduled to be constructed in 2028 with a completion date of 2030.

The siting agreement shows payments over the life of the project and includes both revenue sharing and voluntary payments.

Before construction begins, the county will receive $1.5 million in voluntary payments, with $5.6 million received in both 2025 and 2026 during construction.

The life of the project is listed to net the county more than $300 million.

Randolph Solar is labeled to be one of the nation’s most extensive solar facilities once completed.

According to county documents, the proposed project area includes 21,071 acres and consists of multiple solar panel groupings in the Wylliesburg/Red Oak and Bacon/Saxe districts.

An estimated 3,050 acres are within the project fence line, including about 1.66 million solar panels.

The public hearing on the siting agreement will be held at 6 p.m. in the Randolph-Henry High School Auditorium.