Dominion Energy projects in Charlotte County delayed by transmission upgrade; board presses for earlier revenue

Dominion Energy representatives told the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors on March (date not specified) that a planned upgrade of a regional transmission line will delay commercial operation for several Charlotte County solar projects until about 2030, extending previously announced schedules and deferring large revenue payments to the county.

The delay centers on a transmission-line upgrade from 115 kilovolts to 230 kilovolts that Dominion and the regional grid operator PJM identified as necessary after clustered interconnection studies. “We learned about a line upgrade… the line was at capacity, couldn’t handle any more generation on the line,” said Gary Payne, a member of Dominion’s management team, summarizing the company’s briefing to the board. Payne said the upgrade effectively added roughly two years to the earliest commercial-operation dates for projects that interconnect to that line.

The timeline matters to Charlotte County’s budget because several siting agreements and contract provisions tie payments to milestones such as issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) or commercial operation. “When that CPCN is issued, that’s the one project that has a payment based on the number of megawatts,” the county attorney said during the meeting, and Payne and county staff confirmed that Quarter Horse solar would trigger a roughly $1 million payment on CPCN issuance. Payne said Tall Pines would trigger a larger payment — he referenced a $6,000,000 payment upon commercial operation — but that those payments all depend on the transmission upgrade schedule.

Supervisors pressed Dominion on whether earlier, partial interconnection to the existing 115 kV line could be used to begin generation and revenue before the new 230 kV line is complete. Dominion said an executed interconnection agreement would require the project to interconnect to the upgraded voltage, and that equipment commitments and interconnection documentation are sized to the 230 kV configuration. “When we enter into an interconnection agreement… that document will require us to support it,” Payne said, adding that allocations of equipment already procured would need to be reassigned if the equipment had been reserved for the older line.

Board members repeatedly asked Dominion to accelerate on-site civil work where possible and to consider phasing payments outward so the county receives some revenue before the 2030 commercial-operation dates. County officials said Dominion has already advanced some pre-payments for Courthouse Solar (two payments cited in the record: $200,000 in 2023 and $500,000 in 2024) and that certain projects include annual “convenience” payments (Quarter Horse is described in the record as producing roughly $150,000 annually until production begins; Tall Pines was described as around $60,000 annually).

Local contractors and community benefit were also a focus. Supervisors and residents told Dominion they want local firms hired for grading and clearing work; several speakers complained that a Knoxville-based contractor was selected for clearing at Courthouse Solar and said local contractors have the experience to do that work. “We have got to look out for the people in Charlotte County,” one speaker said. Payne and county staff agreed to review contractor selection and to follow up with the board.

The board and Dominion agreed to follow up on detailed schedules, the start and end points of the upgrade, and whether some projects (for example, Randolph Phase 1) could be expedited because of existing local interconnection points. County staff said one project’s siting agreement ties a payment to CPCN issuance and that, if the CPCN is issued in April as Dominion projected, payment would follow within 60 days.

Why it matters: Charlotte County’s multi-year budgets have assumed revenue from utility siting agreements; shifting commercial-operation dates out several years could force spending changes or require different cash-flow arrangements. Supervisors asked Dominion to pursue any opportunities to accelerate construction work that can safely proceed and to consider staggered payments so the county receives funds before 2030.

The board did not adopt new policy on the projects at this meeting; it requested follow-up briefings from Dominion and asked staff to examine siting-agreement payment timing and local contracting plans.