Dinwiddie planning commission deadlocks on 20‑MW Flower Solar rezoning and conditional-use permit

DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. — The Dinwiddie County Planning Commission on June 11, 2025, split 3‑3 on a rezoning request and on a conditional‑use permit for a proposed 20‑megawatt solar facility proposed by Flower Solar LLC, sending both items to the Board of Supervisors without a recommendation.

The project, identified in the packet as PD‑25‑8 (rezoning) and C‑25‑4 (conditional‑use permit), would place a ground‑mounted solar array on five parcels totaling about 196 acres north of Route 460 and south of the Norfolk Southern railroad. Planning staff presented the application and a set of recommended conditions; the applicant and about a dozen residents then spoke during a public hearing that lasted more than an hour.

Planning staff member Mark Bassett opened the hearing by identifying the two cases before the commission: “The case we have for public hearing this evening is PDash25Dash8, and we also have a conditional use permit, CDash25Dash4.” Bassett summarized the key elements in staff’s report, including that panels would occupy roughly 75–76 acres, the fenced area would be about 121.7 acres, a 75‑foot vegetative buffer is proposed around the site, and the applicant removed a previously included 33‑acre parcel from the northern portion of the project.

Steve Romine, an attorney representing Flower Solar LLC, described the revised application and emphasized the company’s…