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Pittsylvania supervisors approve one-year Firefly Energy SUP extension with accelerated payments to county
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Summary
The board approved a one-year extension to Firefly Energy's special-use permit and an addendum to the 2021 siting agreement that accelerates two nonrefundable advance payments (about $140,625 total) and clarifies escrow distributions; the vote passed 6-1 after discussion about long-term revenue and extensions.
County staff member Matt Evans reviewed a request from Firefly Energy for a one-year extension of a special-use permit (SUP) for a utility-scale solar facility in the Dan River District and an addendum to a 2021 siting agreement. Evans described the original siting-agreement payment schedule: an initial building-permit payment of $562,500, a construction payment of $562,500, and a commercial-operation payment of about $1,120,000, followed by annual payments over a 35-year schedule that together were described as approximately $9.9 million.
Evans said Firefly agreed to several concessions in order to obtain the extension: (1) the one-year extension would be the company's last request for an SUP extension; (2) Firefly would accelerate and make nonrefundable two advance payments totaling roughly $140,625 (about $70,000 at approval and another $70,000 tied to BZA approvals for access parcels); and (3) the addendum would adjust escrow distribution in the event commercial operation is not achieved so that the first accelerated funds would be 100% retained by the county. Evans said those accelerated payments would be nonrefundable regardless of project outcome and that the overall siting-agreement value if fully completed would exceed $12.2 million.
Board members asked for clarification on the multiyear payment totals and whether the annual-payments figure covered the life of the agreement; Evans confirmed the annual-payment schedule spans 35 years and totals roughly $9.9 million. Supervisor Bowman said he was not generally a supporter of extensions on solar farms and voiced a dissenting view, but others cited consistent treatment of similar requests and potential revenue benefits.
Supervisor Brown moved and the board approved a resolution (2026-03-01) extending the SUP to 07/01/2027, authorizing execution of the addendum and allowing related utility easements; the motion passed 6-1 by electronic vote.
Ending: Staff said the developer intends to move forward; the board directed continued coordination with the Board of Zoning Appeals on construction SUPs and with staff to finalize the addendum and easement approvals.
