Virginia counties can still reject solar farms, but a 2026 law lets the state step in after 60 days

A law lets the state step in when counties reject solar farms

Virginia counties can still reject solar farms one at a time, but a law that took effect July 1, 2026 lets the state step in if a county keeps saying no. House Bill 711 and Senate Bill 347 amended the Virginia solar siting law. It applies to any ground mounted solar project of 1 megawatt or more built to sell power to someone other than the property owner. A locality can no longer ban this kind of project outright, but it can still deny any single application. After a denial, the county must send the State Corporation Commission a record of that decision within 60 days, stating the reason for the denial, whether the project did not fit the local comprehensive plan, and the date that plan was last revised.

Henry County shows how a county can say no without saying no

Henry County capped solar development at 2,445 acres, about 1% of the land in the county, around 2023. By July 2026 its Board of Supervisors was weighing a proposal to lower that cap to 1,754 acres, exactly matching what had already been approved, even though only 633.9 of those acres had actually been built, according to Brandon Martin, the public information officer for the county. The vote outcome is not reported in the 5 sources used here, so this article treats the lower cap as a proposal, not an adopted rule. Lowering the cap to match what already exists would let the county stay inside the new law while closing the door to any project beyond what is already approved, the pattern the new reporting requirement exists to catch.

Where Henry County stands against the rest of the state

Henry County ranks tied for 14th of 133 Virginia localities for approved solar, with 303 megawatts across 13 projects, reported by Cardinal News from the state solar database. That database, run by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, tracks approvals using local government records, state permits, State Corporation Commission dockets and grid interconnection filings, not a single agency count. Three counties have approved far more. Brunswick County leads the state, 2,082 megawatts across 11 projects. Charlotte County is second, 1,648 megawatts across 11 projects. Pittsylvania County is third, 1,099 megawatts across 24 projects.

Solar is still a small share of the power Virginia makes

Statewide, solar supplies 11.96% of the electricity Virginia generates inside the state, against 50.73% from natural gas and 0.73% from coal, in a compilation of federal generation data published by Choose Energy. That is a share of what Virginia generates, not of what Virginians use, since the state trades power across a regional grid. A separate 2020 law, the Clean Economy Act, requires Dominion Energy to reach carbon free generation by 2045 and Appalachian Power to reach it by 2050, adding pressure for more solar approvals.

Two sides watching what happens if counties keep saying no

In Botetourt County, 2 solar requests came up in the summer of 2026, and residents posted signs opposing industrial solar. One project was withdrawn and the other was turned down. Bedford County has also been resistant to solar. Every denial like these becomes part of the record the state is now collecting.

If local governments are not going to greenlight energy projects, we'll have to take a heavier hand.

Schuyler VanValkenburg, Virginia state senator, patron of Senate Bill 347. Source 2.

We are very concerned regarding proposed legislation preempting local authority on the siting of solar facilities, battery storage, and other alternative energy sources.

Joe Lerch, Virginia Association of Counties. Source 2.