A coalition that represents solar developers in Virginia plans to ask the legislature to change how solar projects are approved at the local level, arguing that municipal bans are hurting efforts to meet the requirements of the state’s 2020 Clean Economy Act.
In the past 18 months, 33 large utility-scale solar projects — representing 3,236 megawatts of power — have been rejected across the state, according to the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition, or MAREC, which represents 47 renewable energy developers.
“That’s a big chunk of capacity in the short term,” said Evan Vaughan, executive director of MAREC Action, who called the current environment challenging.
MAREC says 34 counties have restrictive ordinances and 16 have limitations that amount to a ban on utility-scale projects.
The data offers a snapshot of the struggles solar developers have faced in recent years as…
