Four Charlotte County solar power projects are expected to come online at least a couple of years later than previously planned because they might require a new transmission line that has yet to be built.
The projects are the 240-megawatt Tall Pines Solar, the 167-megawatt Courthouse Solar, the 150-megawatt CPV County Line Solar and the 125-megawatt Quarter Horse Solar. In all, they would total 682 megawatts.
A recent study concluded that an existing 115-kilovolt transmission line in the area could not handle various projects that developers asked to connect to the electric grid and a larger 230-kilovolt line between Chase City and Farmville would be needed.
Based on that, Dominion Energy now estimates that Courthouse, Quarter Horse and Tall Pines will begin operating in 2030, compared to previous estimates of 2027 for Courthouse and 2028 for Quarter Horse and Tall Pines.
“We want to get these projects online as soon as we possibly can,” Gary Payne, manager of business development for Dominion Energy, told the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors at their meeting last week. “Unfortunately, this is an outside influence that we can’t really control.”
[Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Competitive Power Ventures is developing CPV County Line Solar. A spokesperson said that the schedule depends on the transmission line, but the company now estimates construction could begin in 2028; its website previously has said construction would begin in the third quarter of this year.
“We appreciate the ongoing collaboration with Charlotte County and look forward to continuing our work with them on CPV County Line Solar,” spokesperson Sam Loftus said in an email.
The study that determined the need for the new 230-kilovolt line was published in December by PJM, the regional transmission organization that coordinates wholesale electricity movement across Virginia, 12 other states and Washington, D.C.
It concluded that accommodating projects, including CPV County Line, Courthouse, and Quarter Horse, would require the 230-kilovolt line. Tall Pines was not included in the study, but Dominion anticipates it also would need the larger line.
The new line might not ultimately be necessary. Some developers have recently withdrawn projects that were in PJM’s queue to connect to the grid, and now PJM will restudy the matter. The next study’s results are expected by August, a PJM spokesperson said.
Although CPV County Line Solar was among the projects that withdrew from the queue, CPV said it still plans to move forward with the project.
PJM’s study estimated that constructing the new line would cost $325.5 million and would take 42 to 48 months to build.
“It’s not uncommon for PJM to determine that infrastructure upgrades are needed in connection with new power generation projects,” Dominion spokesperson Tim Eberly said in an email. “While this would alter the project timelines, Dominion Energy is committed to the successful completion of these solar facilities and adding them to the company’s solar fleet.”
Dominion’s 800-megawatt Randolph Solar project planned for Charlotte County would be the largest solar project in Virginia once complete. It does not require a new transmission line, but its current schedule calls for estimated operating dates of 2030, 2031 and 2032 for its three phases, Payne said at the supervisors’ meeting.
During their meeting, county supervisors expressed frustration about the delays and skepticism about Dominion’s new timelines. The solar facilities are expected to bring the county millions of dollars in taxes, revenue sharing and one-time payments in the coming years, and while some of that money has come in, some won’t until the facilities begin operating.
“We’ve done nothing but what you all asked. … Our budget is upside down and we’ve been counting on this money for four or five years, and it’s just pushing back and pushing back and pushing back,” Supervisor Gary Walker told Payne.
Payne said that Dominion’s schedule depends on transmission lines and interconnection with the grid through PJM.
“We can get the construction done on the civil, mechanical and engineering, electrical side, in a two-year period but if we can’t plug the toaster into the wall, then we can’t make toast,” he said.
