Wild Growth Solar project update: construction now targeted for 2028; company cites interconnection and field studies
Loading...
Summary
Wild Growth Solar told the Nelson County Board Dec. 9 the 90 MW project’s construction start is targeted for September 2028 and commercial operation November 2029 because of utility interconnection timing; presenters described wetland delineation, historic mining features and commitments to vegetative buffers and local workforce training.
Representatives for the Wild Growth Solar project updated the Nelson County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9, saying the 90‑megawatt project in southern Nelson County now targets construction start in September 2028 and commercial operation in November 2029. Janine Johnson, the presenter, told the board that timeline changes stem from the interconnection agreement process with the local utility and the regional transmission organization (PJM).
Johnson described a series of field studies completed in 2025 — including a wetland delineation and identification of historic iron‑ore mining features on site — and said the project design has shifted to avoid those features while maintaining committed vegetative buffers to screen the facility. She said the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit‑by‑rule in September and the project team is pursuing a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the generation tie line; final interconnection paperwork was expected in early 2026.
Johnson said the project team intends to bring a final site plan and electrical permit to the county before starting construction and that a stormwater pollution prevention permit will be part of pre‑construction filings. She also said the company will move ahead with a scholarship and local training program in 2026 to build local capacity for solar installation and heavy equipment operation.
In Q&A supervisors asked whether design adjustments affected project visibility; Johnson said the vegetative buffers described during permitting remain in place and that visibility is not expected to change materially. She reiterated that some design details will evolve as engineering progresses and that final construction schedules depend on the utility’s upgrade timetable.
