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Board approves Bealton (Gilton) Solar Center siting agreement and special exception
Summary
Fauquier County supervisors approved a solar siting agreement and granted the special exception for the Bealton (Gilton) Solar Center on Jan. 9, including a payment schedule and a combined $350,000 capital contribution to the county and the town of Remington.
The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9 approved a solar siting agreement with Bealton Solar LLC and granted the special exception to allow a utility-scale solar facility known as the Bealton (Gilton) Solar Center.
Staff told the board that the siting agreement is a contract that locks in the most financially advantageous tax payment schedule for the county across multiple potential taxation methods and commits a combined $350,000 for capital needs: $250,000 to Fauquier County and $100,000 to the Town of Remington. County financial consultants and the commissioner of the revenue reviewed the applicant’s tax calculations, staff said.
Robert Jones, speaking for SunTribe and the project team, told the board the project was sited on a parcel without active agriculture, would place roughly half of the 95-acre site under solar panels with native ground cover beneath, and was designed to meet the county’s solar ordinance and state stormwater guidance. Jones said the developer will post a decommissioning bond and update its estimate every five years so removal costs will be funded at the end of the project’s life.
Staff and the applicant also said the project will interconnect to existing distribution lines and will not require a new substation. The special exception had been presented at prior hearings and was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission.
After public comment from the applicant’s representative, the board opened and closed the public hearing and adopted a resolution approving Special Exception SPEX-24023123 and authorizing the solar siting agreement. The motion to approve and the accompanying resolution passed by voice vote.
"The project was designed in accordance with the county's most recent solar ordinance, and meets all the requirements set forth in the solar ordinance," Robert Jones said during his presentation.
The board combined the public hearings for the siting agreement and the special exception and heard one public speaker representing the applicant. No opposing speakers were recorded in the transcript.
