Loudoun County updates committee on solar, landfill-gas RFP, NREL talks and water-quality grants

On April 24, 2025, the Loudoun County Transportation and Land Use Committee received a quarterly update on the county’s Environment and Energy Work Plan, covering recent solar installations at county facilities, a request for proposals to convert landfill methane to renewable natural gas, discussions with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory about clean-energy options for data centers, and community water-quality grants for homeowners associations.

The update — presented by Mark Aveni, county staff member, with Kara Moore, environmental program manager, and Steve Schwarr, division manager for environment and energy — summarized work on five initiatives: sustainable energy, natural-resource protection, environmental justice, public engagement and government by example. "We are very pleased to be here this evening to give you our quarterly update on your environment and energy work plan," Aveni said.

The presentation said the county has installed solar at the Aldie Fire & Rescue station and is discussing additional clean-energy and data-center initiatives with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, known as NREL. Staff said they have a current contract with NREL that allows the county to use the laboratory’s expertise and that NREL will provide a slide presentation on areas of potential collaboration.

Staff reported nine public electric-vehicle charging locations in the county; no additional chargers were added during the quarter. For natural-resources work, staff described a March water-quality grant event held with soil and water conservation districts and homeowners associations that will fund projects such as pet-waste stations and tree buffers to protect local waterways. The Environmental Commission and county staff have agreed to add invasive-species work to the environment and energy work plan, increasing the plan’s items from 22 to 23.

On government-by-example initiatives, staff said the county is preparing a request for proposals to select a vendor to build, own and operate a system to convert landfill gas at the county landfill into renewable natural gas (RNG). According to the presentation, a vendor would refine the landfill gas at the site, inject it into a nearby natural-gas pipeline and the county would receive credits for the gas. Staff told the committee that the procurement has attracted vendor interest, with roughly one inquiry per week, and that the county expects a robust response to the RFP. Staff said they plan to return to the board for a decision in the next fiscal year if the procurement proceeds.

The committee also heard about a county engagement plan to promote community energy programs — including Solarize Nova, utility rebates and housing-related programs — that staff said many residents do not know about and that could lower household energy bills. Staff announced the county’s third annual Energy and Environment Forum is scheduled for May 2025 at the Academies of Loudoun and that the keynote speaker will be Mike Rolban of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Committee members asked about district-energy options for county buildings and data centers. Staff said the county has engaged Page, an architecture and engineering firm, to analyze the county’s capital-improvement plan and zoning maps to identify where district energy might be feasible, including possible capture and reuse of waste heat from data centers. Staff noted district energy would require matching locations and infrastructure and is not an easy or immediate fix.

Supervisors also asked technical questions about the landfill-gas proposal, including pipeline capacity and volume constraints; staff responded that any connection would be volume-dependent and subject to the existing pipeline’s capacity. The presentation noted that Ashburn Recreation Center is "solar ready" and that geothermal has been applied at some county facilities where practical.

Votes at a glance: earlier in the meeting the committee adopted the consent agenda. The consent agenda motion was moved by Supervisor Glass and seconded by Vice Chair Turner; the motion passed with a tally reported as 3 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain and 2 absent.

Staff said they will provide further details after an upcoming meeting with NREL and will report back to the board in future briefings. The committee was invited to the May forum and to follow subsequent quarterly updates in July and beyond.