King George Planning Commission to Hear Presentation on Proposed Caledon Solar Farm
Site of the proposed farm is owned by State Senator and Interim County Attorney Richard Stuart.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The King George County Planning Commission will hear a presentation Tuesday on a 120-acre solar farm proposed for a 1,431-acre parcel of land owned by Richard Stuart, a state senator and the current Interim County Attorney.
The applicant—Caledon Solar LLC, which is owned by SunTribe Development, LLC—will present an overview of the project, which will require a special exception permit from the county’s Board of Supervisors.
According to the presentation and narrative, the utility-scale solar farm will encompass 49,000 photovoltaic panels, producing 22 megawatts of renewable energy for local residents and businesses.
The project is located east of Caledon State Park, and will be set-back 200 feet from the property line, which according to the presentation is double the county’s requirement, and 500-feet from the nearest private residence. There will be a 0.5-mile set back from Caledon Road.
The proposed solar farm is “within a designated exclusion area on an existing Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation open-space easement,” according to the narrative. The exclusion area has been approved for energy-producing uses such as drilling for oil or gas and utility-scale solar is a “much less intensive use” of the land, the narrative states.
The applicants consulted with the Virginia Department of Natural Resources and “received confirmation … that solar energy development is an allowed use” in the exclusion area, according to the narrative.
The plans include a “wildlife corridor” through the solar arrays and two pollinator habitats.
Caledon Solar first submitted its proposal to the county late last year. A public hearing on the application has not yet been scheduled.
Last month, the county Board of Supervisors disapproved a special exception application for a much larger solar farm on 890 acres of land at the intersection of Kings Highway and Big Timber Road.
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