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Interesting reads

  • Writer: Orange Co. Resident 2
    Orange Co. Resident 2
  • Apr 13
  • 5 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

A running list of media coverage on utility scale solar and renewable energy issues that has caught our attention. Post publish date is date of most recent article included in the chronology.


Podcast

Virginia Association of Counties, 2024: https://www.vaco.org/publications-resources/vaco-county-pulse-podcast/ Look for the "Energy Landscape of Virginia Series" with podcasts on data centers and utility scale solar


Articles






WTKR3, 4/1/25: Neighbors noise complaints over Suffolk solar farm persist (complaints related to tranformer/inverter noise first covered in story in January 2025)








(SB 1190/Deeds)

lis.virginia.gov: YEAS--Bagby, Boysko, Carroll Foy, Deeds, Ebbin, Favola, Hashmi, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, McPike, Pekarsky, Roem, Rouse, Salim, Srinivasan, Surovell, VanValkenburg, Williams Graves--19

NAYS--Cifers, Craig, DeSteph, Diggs, Durant, French, Hackworth, Head, Jordan, McDougle, Mulchi, Obenshain, Peake, Perry, Pillion, Reeves, Stanley, Stuart, Sturtevant, Suetterlein--20

RULE 36--0

NOT VOTING--Aird--1

Senator Aird stated that she was recorded as not voting on the question of the passage of S.B. 1190, whereas she intended to vote nay.


The Farmville Herald, 1/24/25: Is a solar takeover really needed in Virginia? (letter to the editor)


The Farmville Herald, 1/23/25: Solar bill would put counties on clock with 2026 deadline for work A good overview of the HB2126 which proposes creation of a State Energy Review Board that would strengthen the state's role in management of the solar project review process at the expense of local involvement.


Emporia Independent Messenger, 1/21/25: MAREC Action support Virginiia legislative efforts to standardize solar ordinances MAREC = Mid Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition of clean energy businesses lobbying legislators.


Oxford American, 1/17/25: How Data Center Alley is Changing Northern Virginia. Orange County mention: "This past spring, the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared Wilderness Battlefield in Orange County, Virginia, as one of America’s Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places because of a proposed data center development."









A commentary from the president and CEO of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.


Power for the People VA, 11/27/24: Under pressure from the SCC, Dominion reveals the true cost of data centers. Filing shows electricity demand would be flat without the industry.


Virginia Mercury, 11/19/24: Energy policymakers convene for Virginia Clean Economy Act summit. Efforts that could affect local permitting approval are still being discussed prior to the beginning of the legislative session.


Article also discusses trends identified via the database. Direct link: solar project aggregation database by UVA Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service


Virginia Mercury, 11/12/24: The clean energy revolution will continue


on 11/18/24. Not open to the public; neither will papers related to the summit be available through FOIA: "The summit will be the culmination of discussions involving Marsden’s office that he said would be exempt from Freedom of Information Act laws under a working papers exception, in order to allow for more candid conceptual discussions."

Data Center Dynamics, 11/7/24: Outreach with the opposition: A conversation with the Piedmont Environmental Council. Another good overview of the challenges currently facing Virginia related to data centers and Piedmont Environmental Council's efforts to promote smarter growth for the industry.


Data Center Dynamics, 11/4/24: The future of Virginia post-Loudoun. Comprehensive overview of the spread of data centers in Virginia and related challenges.


This article mentions MAREC, the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition representing 47 renewable energy developers, which is pushing for siting reform. See also Virginia Siting Reform on the MAREC website.


The new nonprofit is Greenlight America




Chesapeake Bay Journal, October 2024: Solar industry electrifies pushback in rural areas






Disappointed in Cardinal News that it was not made clear at beginning of this "article" that the author, Chloe Hodges, is the exernal affairs director for Energy Right, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization that provides education to rural Virginia on clean energy from a conservative perspective. This is stated at the end of this ER advertorial for renewable energy.

The Virginia Public Access Project site lists three solar developers who have given money to Energy Right.


Sometimes Protect Orange VA editors read or hear about a solar project and think, "This one seems ok." But, we've learned that unless we've read the actual proposal and participated in the review process, Don't Weigh In. It's fair and prudent to assume that one article is not covering all layers and angles on a project.


News 29 (Charlottesville/Central VA), 9/11/2024: https://www.29news.com/2024/09/11/dominion-energy-using-hundreds-thousands-bees-part-new-initiative/ Note url and story title reference to "hundreds of thousands" of bees. Apparently because saying "four hives" was not attention grabbing enough. That reference is in the article itself. Project location Buckingham County, VA.







 
 
 

Comments

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Sunfish Solar project

Read the developer's application to learn about the scope of this industrial scale solar project in northern Orange County. (Project proposal denied August 2024)

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Resources

Check out resources from Orange County, VA state agencies & environmental & conservation non profit organizations that can help inform opposition to industrial solar.

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Get involved

Learn how you can help support the fight against industrial solar on rural land.

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