County Line Solar request heard

Published 5:18 pm Friday, August 1, 2025

Members of the Charlotte County Planning Commission had several questions last Thursday, when it came to County Line Solar’s request. Competitive Power Ventures had come to the group asking for an amendment to the project’s already approved conditional use permit. The company bought more land and wants to expand the area where panels can be used. However, their answers to multiple questions left a commission majority unwilling to give their stamp of approval. By a 6-2 vote, the commission recommended denial.

That doesn’t stop the project or the proposed expansion. The company can now go before the board of supervisors and ask them to overturn or disagree with the planning commission’s decision. If that happens, the project would be able to move forward with the requested expansion.

The area in question is land currently owned by Blue Rock Resources, a 91-acre parcel, which would be purchased and added to the conditional use permit. This land is located on Route 47 in Charlotte Court House, roughly 450 feet north of the intersection of Route 47 and Route 665. It’s across from Corner Deli.

Some areas of concern

The first issue dealt with some very different numbers being referenced. On the letter to the county, requesting this expansion, Competitive Power Ventures states there would be 36.9 more acres under panels. At Thursday’s hearing, Ventures representative Marlon dos Santos said it would be 50. He then blamed the discrepancy on the county, claiming the county’s GIS (Geographic Information System) was off when it comes to property boundaries.

Now as mentioned, County Line Solar already has a conditional use permit in place. However, earlier this year, the company removed the project from its place in the transmission line list.That basically dictates where protects send the generated energy and when they can start looking up to a specific line. In their application for this amendment, company officials claimed that they lost their grandfathered status as a result and now will have to meet new Department of Environmental Quality stormwater standards for County Line Solar.

But, as planning commission members pointed out, there’s one problem with that claim. The new stormwater standards were put in place a year before County Line got approved, so regardless what happened with the transmission line, they would have always been required to follow the new rules.

More than that, planning commission members said it was concerning that either the company didn’t know about the changes or ignored them. Either way, it didn’t give a good example of how the company would follow state law in the future.

No place in line

Also, it’s not clear when County Line would be allowed to re-attach to a transmission line. CPV County Line Solar was one of several solar projects that would be affected by the upcoming transmission line decision. In December 2024, this region’s electricity transmission authority, PJM, released a report stating that Dominion Energy would need to change its plans in Charlotte County. Specifically, the report stated too many solar projects were planning to feed into one 115 KV transmission line. A kilovolt (kv) is one unit of electrical potential energy. Those projects, PJM officials wrote, would need to be placed on hold while a larger 230 KV transmission line is built. Now it turns out that a larger line may not be needed.

Each grouping of states has what’s known as a regional transmission organization. They review construction plans, they study to make sure the infrastructure is in place to handle the energy being generated and that a developer isn’t trying to build something larger than possible. And then, if necessary, they hold up or order construction suspended, give requirements to companies, to make sure everything works. For Virginia and 12 other states in the Atlantic region, that group is PJM.

Instead of being placed on hold, several projects had their applications withdrawn completely. In other words, they were no longer applying to use this 115 KV transmission line, deciding to look at other options. Despite being on the verge of flipping the switch and generating power, with Competitive Power Ventures having placed it in the queue, County Line Solar was one of these pulled out. So before setting and confirming any dates on when energy would start to flow, planning commission members pointed out the company needs to get a confirmed spot with a transmission line and a confirmed year when it can flip the switch and start generating power. Without any of that, these are just numbers on a page.

Money and impact

Residents were also split, with some neighbors of the property saying at the hearing they didn’t want solar panels near their homes.

“Here we go again, another solar farm being shoved down our throats that we don’t want,” said Dee Newman. The Cullen resident asked why the county couldn’t be working on improving cell service or providing decent internet. As it stands, “I don’t see anything in there that benefits the local people that live around these solar farms,” she added.

Jonathan Trent-Carlson and his husband live in Madisonville and are concerned the solar farm would lower their property values. And if that happens, they want the county to pay for it.

“We have been talking to lawyers and we are prepared to sue for reimbursement (of lost property values) if it comes to it,” Trent-Carlson said.

He had cited a recent Virginia Tech study, one that said solar projects could reduce property values by roughing 5%.

Others supported the project, arguing that it does no one any good to have farmland that isn’t being used.

“I haven’t heard any economically sustainable solutions to support young workers and families in agriculture or provide the county with much needed revenue,” said Sandra Towne. She works with the South Central Virginia Business Alliance.

What happens next?

Now the expansion request goes to county supervisors, who will have the option to reject or approve it.