SitePath › Local intel › Virginia › Richmond city
Virginia

Solar permitting — Richmond city, Virginia

FIPS 51760

4 indexed meetings (4 energy-related), 295 news items.

B
Richmond city, VA
Risk score 30/100 · Full scorecard →
Compliance: LowNo local solar ordinanceTrajectory: StableSaturation: High

State capital; dense urban; Dominion HQ; pro-solar council. Permitting: Richmond City: Site plan / CUP through city planning commission; hard N/A — independent city; limited developable land. Track record: Bookers Mill Solar, 127 MW, 2024, Domi…

Permitting process

Local permitting pathway

Richmond City: Site plan / CUP through city planning commission

Setbacks & buffers

No solar-specific setbacks; governed by general municipal zoning

Spacing requirements

No spacing requirements codified

Size restrictions

No size restrictions codified

Penalties & bonding

No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.

State-level permits & approvals

Local zoning approval via city council/planning commission; DEQ PBR for >5 MW; SCC PBR for 5–150 MW utility-scale under VCEA framework HB 711/SB 347 (signed Apr 13 2026, eff. July 1 2026): OUTRIGHT BANS and blanket exclusions on ≥1 MW solar in ag/commercial/industrial/institutional zones PROHIBITED. Localities must accept and review SE/SUP for every ≥1 MW application. Statewide minimum setbacks: 150–200 ft from adjacent houses; 50–100 ft from state roads; 100–250 ft from streams/wetlands. Decommissioning plan required + updated every 5 yrs. Denials reported to SCC public database. Counties CAN still DENY on case-by-case basis. VACo opposed; Virginia Farm Bureau opposed. Passed House 63-33 / Senate 21-17. Source: lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB347

🔒
Full permitting requirements

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

Sign in to view

State policy & grid context

State RPS & clean energy policy

100% carbon-free by 2050 (Dominion), 2045 (APCo) | Virginia Clean Economy Act (2020) | Va. Code §56-585.5

State incentive programs

Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA); Dominion/AEP net metering (residential/commercial); state solar equipment tax exemption; locality solar revenue share option (SB 1258)

Grid & interconnection

PJM / Dominion zone

🔒
Full state policy & grid detail

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

Sign in to view

Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting

Standalone BESS (not co-located with approved solar): still requires county SE/SUP and host siting agreement

Local BESS ordinances & bylaws

County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.

Community opposition P1

No organized opposition on record for this county yet — no petition, group, or oppositional coverage tracked. Absence of opposition is a positive siting signal.

Subscriber intel Subscribers

Researched for this county and available with a subscription:

Sign in to view

Energy-related meetings & dockets P1

4 meetings indexed for this jurisdiction; none flagged as discussing solar, BESS, data centers, wind, or transmission yet. Coverage expands weekly.

State PSC dockets P1

No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.

Local news P3

🔒
12 more news items

Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.

Sign in to view
Explore all 3,143 counties on the interactive map

Filter by grade, state, moratorium status, and compliance stringency. Compare counties side by side.

Open the county map → SitePath home All Virginia counties
Data sources: public agendas/minutes from local government sites; PSC dockets from state regulators; news from GDELT and curated RSS; sentiment derived from public meeting transcripts. Last refreshed 2026-08-27. See the county risk scorecard or the full Virginia permitting index.