Clean Energy Solar farms also have helped boost


Danville’s economy, which had been battered by the shuttering of textile mills and tobacco warehouses. Former tobacco fields are being used for solar farms, increasing property values and attracting new businesses to the area. “Solar farms are a great economic development tool,” Grey adds. “A lot of companies when looking at sites ask what portion of the portfolio is renewable. At least 20% of Danville’s portfolio is renewable.” Grey says his community has largely


supported solar farm development. “If you had to pick a generating asset to have around you, you would pick solar,” he adds. “There’s no noise, and a lot of the developers we’re working with have built-in setback areas so they’re not as noticeable from the road.” Virginia’s other major electric utility,


Appalachian Power, also is pursuing solar power as it strives to meet man- dates set under the governor’s executive order and the Virginia Clean Economy Act. When its first appeal for large-scale solar farms did not result in viable proj- ects, the utility issued a second request for proposals for up to 200 megawatts of solar energy resources to power more than 30,000 homes. Developers also can


include up to 10 megawatts of a battery energy storage system. “We think we will get better propos-


als by lumping in battery storage and get more favorable pricing,” says Chris T. Beam, Appalachian’s president and chief operating officer. Appalachian also plans to purchase


solar power from the 15-megawatt Depot Solar Center in Campbell County, slated to be completed this year. “We’re focusing more on renewable energy,” Beam says, noting that the company plans to close its Clinch River Plant, its last fossil-fuel energy generator in Vir- ginia, in 2026. Serving about 500,000 customers


in Virginia, Appalachian is the only electric company in the state to offer customers the option of obtaining 100% of their power from renewable energy, including wind, hydro and solar. About 200 customers pay a premium rate for the service, which Beam says was imple- mented due to customer demand. Hydro power, which includes facilities at Smith Mountain, Claytor and Leesville lakes, comprises about 11% of Appalachian’s fuel mix, while about 7% of the utility’s power comes from wind farms in West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois.


Onshore wind Onshore wind energy has had less


success in Virginia, largely due to the state’s topography. “We try to situate wind facilities to where the wind blows the most constant,” Beam says. “There are a couple wind corridors in Virginia that make sense. … If we find a bidder with favorable pricing and landowners willing to lease property, we would cer- tainly consider it.” Charlottesville-based wind and solar


power developer Apex Clean Energy is encountering opposition to its planned 75-megawatt Rocky Forge Wind Farm in Botetourt County, which would be Virginia’s first-ever onshore wind project. Apex obtained approval from the county Board of Supervisors for turbines up to 550 feet tall in 2016, but later asked to install turbines up to 680 feet tall, citing changes in technology that would allow for the construction of fewer but larger turbines. Steve Neas, a civil engineer who lives


This 20-megawatt Dominion-owned solar farm in Sussex County’s Stony Creek area is one of six Virginia solar farms producing renewable energy purchased by Amazon Web Services to offset its environmental impact.


near the proposed wind farm, scoffed when he learned about Apex’s plans. “My issue is the amount of energy produced is minimal,” he says. “Wind resources in the Allegheny Mountains are marginal at best, but the impacts created by large turbines would be significant.” Neas asserts that the turbines would disrupt the environment and create both audible noise and low-frequency vibrations. Botetourt County is holding public


hearings about the proposed turbine height change. Apex hopes to begin con- struction on the wind farm by the end of this year, with the project coming online in late 2021. Last fall, Virginia agreed to purchase the wind farm’s output, creating the largest state contract for renewable energy in the U.S. Like Appalachian, Dominion does


not have onshore wind farms in Virginia. “What we’ve found is onshore wind resources are fairly challenging,” Blue says, noting local pushback. “The best wind resources are on top of ridge lines, but that’s where people see it the most, and you can get community opposition.”


Nuclear power However, Dominion does not expect


any opposition as it renews licenses for its Surry and North Anna nuclear


36 | APRIL 2020 Drone photography by Rick DeBerry


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