Orange County Board of Supervisors Block Solar Development and Progress on VCEA Goals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Today, Advanced Energy United and Virginia State Senator and Chair of Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Creigh Deeds responded to Orange County’s board of supervisors' decision blocking solar project development, including a 1,000-acre Sunfish Solar installation. The decision threatens Virginia’s ability to meet its clean energy goals established by the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). 

If local governments keep tossing perfectly good solar projects in the trash, we’re not going to get there on time. Sunfish Solar alone could have generated $20 million in revenue for Orange County over the next 25 years, without costing local taxpayers a dime,” said Morgan Pinnell, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United. 

Delaying clean energy projects also has economic implications. When clean energy projects are blocked or stalled by the government, project developers lose capital, communities miss out on new tax revenue that flows from these projects, and landowners lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in lease payments.   

“Solar provides steady dollars to localities, stable jobs in the community, and clean power to our grid,” said Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds, a champion of Virginia’s Solar Hub in Charlottesville. “We are adding over five percent demand for electric power each year, so we have to build power supply.” 

Blocking these clean energy projects means Virginians are missing out on lower monthly utility bills, and much-needed revenue for schools, infrastructure, and essential services.