Amherst supervisors deny 5-MW solar project citing slope and watercourse concerns

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 19 voted to deny a special exception and a siting agreement for a proposed 5-megawatt solar facility being developed by 1 Energy Development LLC, upholding the planning commission's finding that the project was not substantially in accord with the county comprehensive plan.

The motion to deny, made by Supervisor Martin and approved by the board with one recorded no vote by Supervisor Drew Wade, covered the special exception (2025-115), the accompanying appeal under Virginia Code §15.2-2232, and the siting agreement (2025-348).

The decision came after a multi-hour public hearing in which county planning staff, the applicant and dozens of residents presented technical details, promises of community benefits and objections focused on grading, stormwater and viewshed impacts along the Buffalo River.

County planner Tyler Creasy outlined the request at the hearing: the site is a roughly 73-acre parcel identified as tax map 82-A-84A zoned A-1 (agriculture/residential). The applicant proposed to use approximately 20 acres for the fenced solar array, with a fixed-tilt array of about 12,000 panels and a maximum panel height of roughly 14 feet. Creasy said a major site plan and VDOT sign-off would be required before zoning permits, and that conditions would require a road maintenance plan and DEQ stormwater permitting.

Natalie Young, project manager for 1 Energy Development, told the board the project (referred to in application materials as Hizup Solar) had secured interconnection capacity with Appalachian Power Company and was designed to participate in APCo’s new shared-solar pilot. "The power that this project will produce is equivalent to the needs of approximately 1,200 average Virginia homes," Young said, adding the developer planned to seed the site with pollinator-friendly mixes and add roughly 21 evergreen trees per 100 linear feet in a 40-foot buffer. Young said the applicant offered a $100,000 upfront payment to the county as part of the siting agreement and proposed a priority registration period and an additional subscriber discount for Amherst residents in APCo’s shared-solar program.

Karen Cohen, legal counsel for the applicant with Gentry Locke, explained the state review the company had invoked. "It's not a it's not a lawsuit. It's not an action against the county or anything like that," Cohen said of the §15.2-2232 appeal process, and outlined how the statute requires a determination whether the facility's general location, character and extent are substantially in accord with the comprehensive plan. She noted the county’s zoning ordinance permits solar as a special exception in A-1 and that the ordinance sets size limits and buffering standards; she also described the revenue-share framework the county could use for compensation.

Multiple neighbors and technical speakers opposed the project or raised questions about its location. Paul Kilgore, a long-time local official and former mayor, said he feared the steep slope and proximity to the Buffalo River made the site a poor fit: "They want you to believe that their engineers have developed a plan to keep all of that silt and soil out of the Buffalo River. Maybe they have. Maybe they haven't," Kilgore said, citing DEQ compliance reports for other solar projects in the region. Kimberly Maddox, who said she would have an unobstructed view of the panels, called the project "a significant negative impact on my home, my peace of mind and my future." Gary Ahern, another nearby property owner, said he opposed the project during construction and raised possible effects on property values.

Supporters included onsite engineers and adjoining landowners who described negotiations with the developer over access road placement, vegetation management and maintenance contracts. Kennedy Campbell, a site engineer who said she works for the Timmons Group on the project’s stormwater design, described the proposed erosion-control measures and the small scale of the stormwater footprint relative to larger developments. Adjoining landowner Ronald Dixon, who owns the project property through Buffalo Ridge Air Sports LLC, said he chose the developer and emphasized he wanted to be a "good neighbor": "I'm not in this for money. I'm in this because this is what I spent 40 years of my life studying," Dixon said.

Board members said they were persuaded that, despite multiple mitigation commitments, the proposed grading and disturbance on the steep portion of the site adjacent to the Buffalo River posed an unacceptable environmental risk. When Supervisor Martin moved to deny the special exception and siting agreement and to uphold the planning commission’s finding of nonconformity with the comprehensive plan, the board voted to adopt that motion; the recorded tally showed one no vote by Supervisor Drew Wade and the motion passed.

The denial means the applicant may pursue other administrative or project changes (for example, redesign, additional buffering or alternative siting) but the board’s action closes the current special exception and siting agreement application. The planning commission had recommended denial prior to the supervisors' hearing.

The hearing record includes detailed technical exhibits — stormwater concepts, line-of-sight visualizations (with 5 sightlines modeled), a proposed vegetative buffer, and a decommissioning plan with a proposed decommissioning bond — and the developer said the array would be underground to APCo poles only at the site perimeter. Staff advised that DEQ stormwater permitting would be required for construction, and that VDOT must approve the entrance as a low-volume commercial access with a road maintenance plan required as a condition.

The record shows a mix of local support for distributed energy and concerns about the site selection. The applicant repeatedly told the board it was willing to work with neighbors and the board to refine mitigation; the board instead concluded the site-specific grading and erosion risks outweighed the pledged benefits.

Actions

- Motion: Deny special exception 2025-115 (utility-scale solar), deny siting agreement 2025-348, and uphold the Amherst County Planning Commission determination that the special exception is not substantially in accord with the county comprehensive plan. - Mover: Supervisor Martin (moved on the record) - Second: not specified on record - Vote record: Supervisor Martin — yes; Supervisor Drew Wade — no; other supervisors — yes (not specified by name on transcript) - Tally: yes 4, no 1, abstain 0 - Outcome: approved (denial of special exception and siting agreement) - Notes: Board cited grading/erosion risk adjacent to Buffalo River and potential stormwater/runoff impacts as primary reasons. Applicant offered conditions and mitigation but was not approved.

Speakers (attributed)

- Tyler Creasy — county planning staff - Natalie Young — project manager, 1 Energy Development - Karen Cohen — attorney, Gentry Locke (representing applicant) - Ronald Dixon — landowner (Buffalo Ridge Air Sports LLC) - Kennedy Campbell — engineer, Timmons Group - Steve Zlunowski — representative of adjoining landowners - Kimberly Maddox — resident/opponent - Gary Ahern — resident/opponent - Paul Kilgore — resident/opponent - Supervisor Martin — member, Amherst County Board of Supervisors (mover of denial) - Supervisor Drew Wade — member, Amherst County Board of Supervisors (recorded no vote)

Authorities

- {"type":"statute","name":"Virginia Code § 15.2-2232 (public facility review)","referenced_by":["Karen Cohen","Tyler Creasy"]} - {"type":"ordinance","name":"Amherst County zoning ordinance (solar/special-exception provisions)","referenced_by":["Tyler Creasy","Karen Cohen"]} - {"type":"statute","name":"Virginia Code §§ 15.2-2204 and 15.2-2316 (siting agreement/statutory citations referenced by staff)","referenced_by":["Tyler Creasy"]}

Clarifying details

- site_area: {"category":"site size","detail":"parcel is approximately 73 acres; proposed fenced panel area about 20 acres","value":73,"units":"acres","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Tyler Creasy"} - generation_capacity: {"category":"generation capacity","detail":"project is proposed at 5 megawatts AC","value":5,"units":"MW","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Natalie Young"} - panels_count: {"category":"equipment","detail":"~12,000 fixed-tilt panels proposed","value":12000,"units":"units","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Tyler Creasy"} - max_panel_height: {"category":"height limit","detail":"panel top not to exceed about 14 feet","value":14,"units":"feet","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Tyler Creasy"} - vegetative_buffer: {"category":"landscaping","detail":"proposed 40-foot buffer with ~21 evergreens per 100 linear feet; existing buffer ranges 300–1,300 feet in places","source_speaker":"Natalie Young"} - stormwater_measures: {"category":"stormwater","detail":"applicant proposed at least three stormwater management ponds; project requires DEQ stormwater permitting","source_speaker":"Tyler Creasy"} - shared_solar_benefit: {"category":"community benefit","detail":"applicant asserted participation in APCo shared-solar pilot offering ~10% subscriber savings; estimate: serves ~1,200 homes, $216 average annual household savings","source_speaker":"Natalie Young"} - siting_agreement_payment: {"category":"local payment","detail":"applicant offered an upfront $100,000 payment to the county in the proposed siting agreement","value":100000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Natalie Young"} - decommissioning: {"category":"decommissioning","detail":"applicant included a decommissioning plan and bond to restore land at end of project life","source_speaker":"Natalie Young"}

Proper_names

- {"name":"Amherst County","type":"agency"} - {"name":"1 Energy Development LLC","type":"business"} - {"name":"Appalachian Power Company","type":"business"} - {"name":"Timmons Group","type":"business"} - {"name":"Gentry Locke","type":"business"} - {"name":"Buffalo Ridge Air Sports LLC","type":"business"} - {"name":"Buffalo River","type":"location"} - {"name":"Department of Environmental Quality","type":"agency"}

Community_relevance

- geographies: ["Route 29 Business","Boxwood Farm Road","Buffalo River watershed","Amherst County"] - impact_groups: ["adjacent homeowners","APCo customers/subscribers","local agriculture (pollinators)"] - funding_sources: ["not specified in hearing (applicant referenced project financing and revenue-share structure)"]

Searchable_tags:["solar","utility-scale","land use","stormswater","viewshed","Amherst County","Appalachian Power"]

Provenance

- transcript_segments:[{"block_id":"block_531.405","local_start":0,"local_end":223,"evidence_excerpt":"As you have just indicated, you all as a board are conducting a combined public hearing for a special exception and siting agreement regarding a utility scale solar facility being proposed in the A 1 agriculture residential district.","tc_start":"00:08:51","tc_end":"00:12:00","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_570.71","local_start":0,"local_end":170,"evidence_excerpt":"Regarding the appeal pursuant to Virginia state code, which I already mentioned 15.2 dash 22 32 subsection b. The special exception request is from 1 energy development LLC. As mentioned, it is for utility scale solar facility, 5 megawatts in size, and the parcel is located at tax map number 82DashADash84A.","tc_start":"00:09:30","tc_end":"00:10:38","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_4252.49","local_start":0,"local_end":67,"evidence_excerpt":"Let the record show 1 no vote by mister Drew Wade. Motion passes.","tc_start":"00:70:52","tc_end":"00:70:58","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]