Board approves Dominion Energy conditional use permit for switchyard, after developer presentation and public opposition

The Brunswick County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 26 to approve Conditional Use Permit case 24-023, allowing Dominion Energy Virginia to construct and operate a switchyard and substation on A-1‑zoned land along Seward Forest Road to serve a separately permitted solar project in Greensville County.

The county’s planning staff presented the request and said the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended approval at its Jan. 14 meeting. Dominion’s representative, O’Brien, identified himself as a senior business development manager for Dominion Energy Virginia and said the site is remote and largely timbered, with about 34 acres of anticipated land disturbance covering the switchyard, substation, associated lines and stormwater controls. He said the switchyard would remain in service permanently, while the substation would be decommissioned and removed when the solar project it serves is taken out of service. O’Brien said the project does not include solar panels in Brunswick and is sited in Brunswick because an existing transmission line is nearby.

O’Brien described mitigation and permit conditions negotiated with county staff, including screening, setbacks, stormwater management, construction-hour limits and traffic-impact mitigation mirroring conditions used for prior substations. He said the project would maintain existing vegetation to shield views, that the closest distance from the site to a property line is about 444 feet and the nearest residence is roughly 0.89 mile away as the crow flies, and that a 100-foot buffer is contemplated along Seward Forest Road.

Three residents spoke in opposition during the public hearing. Anne Moore said she had emailed supervisors reasons to deny or defer the project and argued the switchyard primarily benefits the Greensville County solar project; she raised health concerns related to high‑voltage lines, potential property‑value loss, visual and noise impacts and questioned whether the project complies with the county’s comprehensive plan. Moore identified herself for the record and referenced studies and sources about potential health and property‑value impacts.

After closing the public hearing and allowing rebuttal time for the applicant, supervisors debated briefly and a motion to approve the CUP with the amended conditions was made and seconded. The motion carried.

The board’s approval authorizes construction of the switchyard and substation subject to the county’s final site‑plan review and the permit conditions provided to supervisors at the meeting. The applicant and county staff said the switchyard is intended to be the point of interconnection for the County Line solar project in Greensville County; Dominion said the switchyard could also serve a separate prospective project (Rocky Run) if that project is later approved, but stressed County Line can be built without Rocky Run.

Supervisors did not adopt a separate finding about decommissioning beyond the applicant’s statement that the substation structure would be removed when its associated solar generation is decommissioned. No state statute or specific code section was read into the record during the public hearing; the action was processed under the county’s zoning and public‑hearing procedures.

The board’s recorded action was an approval of Conditional Use Permit case number 24‑023 with conditions as presented to the board and subject to final site‑plan review.

Supervisors who moved and seconded the motion identified themselves during the meeting; the chair recorded the motion as approved.

The point of contact for Dominion’s project presentation at the meeting was O’Brien, senior business development manager, Dominion Energy Virginia; county planning staff handling the item identified the case and the related Planning Commission recommendation during the hearing.