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Developer outlines timeline, design shifts for 90‑MW Wild Rose Solar project in Nelson County
Summary
Project representatives told the Board the Wild Rose Solar special use permit is in place and the developer expects an interconnection agreement in early 2026, a planned construction start in late 2028 and commercial operation in November 2029; design changes avoid wetlands and historic mine features and the company plans local workforce training and scholarships (details not specified).
Jeannine Johnson, a Wild Rose Solar representative, updated the Nelson County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 16 about a proposed 90‑megawatt solar facility in southern Nelson County, saying the special use permit was approved in January 2025 and that the project is progressing through interconnection and permitting steps.
"We expect the final interconnection agreement to be issued within a few days and signed at the beginning of 2026," Johnson said, and added that utility upgrades identified in that process pushed construction into late 2028 and commercial operation to November 2029.
Johnson said the current site design is an iteration of the plan approved during permitting: field studies completed this year identified pink‑flagged wetlands and red dots marking historic iron‑ore mining features dating from the late 1870s. "Where features were identified, panels were shifted to completely avoid potential mining features," she said, and she emphasized the project will retain extensive vegetative buffers to screen views from adjacent properties.
Permits secured to date include the special use permit and a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality permit‑by‑rule, which DEQ expedited after deeming the site a brownfield because of historic mining. Johnson said the developer is coordinating with state agencies including the Department of Historic Resources and the Department of Wildlife Resources, and that the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the generation tie line has been submitted and is expected early next year.
Johnson said stormwater pollution prevention plans, final site plans, and building and electrical permits will precede construction. She also confirmed that the developer plans to implement local workforce training (the SHINE program) and a scholarship program tied to the project, but she did not provide specific scholarship amounts or an application timeline.
The Board did not take a vote on the update; supervisors asked questions about visibility and committed buffers and were told design refinements at the 30–50% design stage would provide more detail.
