Planning Commission Hears Maroon Solar CUP; Tables Zoning Amendment Pending State Action

Culpeper County planning commissioners heard an informational presentation from Maroon Solar and its developer, StrataClean Energy, on a conditional use permit (CUP) application for a 65-megawatt utility-scale solar project sited on parcels totaling 1,427.79 acres on Raccoon Forge Road, with a 291-acre project area and an on-site substation.

The applicant team said the project area includes about 280 acres of panel arrays, 6 acres of access roads and roughly 5 acres for the substation and switchyard, with 843.79 acres left undisturbed and 202 acres designated for stormwater basins. Frank Hopkins of StrataClean Energy said the proposal would yield about $7,400,000 in direct county revenue over a 35-year life span, with $1,650,000 due upfront and roughly $100,000–$200,000 per year thereafter.

Commissioners and staff framed the presentation as an informational work session; principal planner Chris Waring reminded the commission that a formal staff analysis was not yet available and will be provided at public hearing. "We are making our way through the materials," Waring said, noting the applicant had recently submitted roughly 900 pages of documentation.

Heather McAllister, the project manager for Maroon Solar, told the commission the project had been reduced from an earlier 671-acre fenced layout to the current 291-acre fence line, shortened the estimated construction schedule to 18–24 months and increased setbacks for nearby roads and residences. "We went from 671 acres in the fence line down to 291 acres in the fence line," McAllister said. She also said the applicant submitted a draft decommissioning plan and an estimated bond as part of the permit package; the county will review and approve the plan and bond before finalization and the plan would be reviewed every three years.

On water and stormwater, Tiffany Severs, director of permitting for Strata, said the project proposes a combination of permanent on-site BMPs and conserved open space, and that the applicant designed the project to the newer DEQ criteria by treating under-panel areas as impervious. "We have accounted for those areas," Severs said, adding the off-site nutrient credit purchases noted in preliminary materials were a fallback option at this stage.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on several technical points. One asked whether geotechnical conditions would require blasting to install basins and trenches; Adam Thompson, Strata's director of development for the Southeast, said the usual approach in this region is to predrill and set racking rather than blast. Another commissioner noted that forestry is part of agriculture and cautioned that converting timberland affects agricultural use.

A commissioner raised enforcement and surety concerns about long-term decommissioning funding, saying surety companies and letters of credit can be uncertain decades in the future. The commissioner urged the county and applicant to consider more secure mechanisms so taxpayers are not left with cleanup liability at the end of the project term.

Applicant representatives framed the project as a reliability and economic contribution to the region. Hopkins cited state and regional planning documents and told the commission a 65 MW project would represent a substantial fraction of the county's electricity footprint, and said solar was among the quickest and most economical ways to add local generation.

No formal action was taken on the CUP during the work session; staff emphasized the planning commission is reviewing land-use considerations and that the Board of Supervisors will consider fiscal topics, including any siting agreement. Separately, commissioners considered a zoning text amendment (ZTA-15-25-1) to distinguish definitions for utility power generation and storage and to remove utility power generation as allowable in A1 agricultural zoning. Staff recommended tabling that ZTA until after the Virginia General Assembly adjourns so state-level lawmaking can inform the county's text.

The commission voted to table the zoning text amendment until April, with a motion to table made by a commissioner and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. Commissioners were told to expect up to three public hearings on zoning matters next month and a special CIP meeting the following week.

The planning commission will receive a staff analysis and the full public hearing packet before any formal decision on the Maroon Solar CUP.