Revisiting the Composite Index of Virginia

By |2018-12-20T14:53:10-05:00December 20th, 2018|Industry, Land Use, Virginia Solar|

By Francis Hodsoll and Aaron Morrow In a series of blogs in March and April 2017, we discussed the Composite Index (CI) and the impact that solar energy facilities (solar projects) have on the calculation of the CI. In turn, we discussed some of the possible repercussions of the CI policy concerning the awarding of solar project permits. We continue to run across fundamental misunderstandings when it comes to the impact of solar projects on the CI calculation. To offer

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Challenges and Opportunities in Virginia’s Solar Energy

By |2018-10-02T14:37:24-04:00October 2nd, 2018|Company Update, Industry, Land Use, Virginia Solar|

This past week, SolUnesco’s CEO , participated in a session entitled “The Rubin Group: Lessons from Virginia at Solar Power International. During the session, Hodsoll discussed how Virginia has rapidly become a clean energy state. In addition, Hodsoll discussed the challenges and opportunities that still exist for solar energy development in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia’s Painfully Slow Start Francis outlined three key interrelated challenges that the industry is facing: Inertia: Virginia is inhibited by an outdated regulatory system that

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Decommissioning of Solar Sites: A Key Consideration of the Project

By |2021-03-25T11:30:24-04:00September 10th, 2018|Industry, Land Use, Virginia Solar|

By Lea Maamari As developers of projects that may have three decades of longevity in a community, we want to assure our neighbors that we will leave the land in the same or better condition than we found it. We know that this is also important to our communities, as questions about decommissioning have risen with virtually every solar project proposed in Virginia. In a comprehensive report, which can be downloaded here, SolUnesco has reviewed 45 county ordinances and 50

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Supplying Solar Energy in Virginia

By |2018-05-24T15:08:11-04:00May 23rd, 2018|Industry, Land Use, Virginia Solar|

By Francis Hodsoll and Jon Hillis We often receive questions about how the transmission of solar energy works here in Virginia. In addition, we often are asked about the supply of solar and how that matches up with the demand for renewable energy. Read on for some insights into these two questions. The State of Solar Supply in Virginia (May 15, 2018) Currently, in Virginia, there are 10 in-service utility-scale solar energy projects totaling 327 MWs that have completed the

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SolUnesco White Paper: Solar Myths Busted

By |2018-06-20T13:19:46-04:00February 8th, 2018|Industry, Land Use, Virginia Solar|

Background This white paper is a companion piece to our two previous blogs on local permitting (Hodsoll and Maughan). In our local permitting blogs we provided our perspectives on best practices for local permitting and how we engage with the local community. We write this white paper to discuss some of the issues and concerns that are raised by the community during this process. All of us engaged in the industry have heard the naysayer’s arguments. From the most bizarre

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Local Permitting, SolUnesco’s 101

By |2018-03-05T20:24:56-05:00January 29th, 2018|Land Use, Virginia Solar|

January 29, 2018 By Francis Hodsoll For nearly a decade, my business partner and I have devoted our hearts and considerable time to developing a sustainable solar energy market in Virginia. However, the local permitting process poses a significant risk to the long-term viability of the market. In this companion piece to Seth’s previous blog post on our successful permitting experience in Orange County, Virginia, we offer our perspectives on local permitting and the concerns typically raised by local communities. 

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Fiscal Impact on the County: How does Solar Compare to other Land Uses?

By |2018-06-21T11:07:00-04:00September 11th, 2017|Industry, Land Use, Virginia Solar|

This post references research and analysis from an original SolUnesco white paper, which can be downloaded in full, here. Much has been said about the recent plummeting costs of solar technology, and the corresponding ability for utility-scale projects to legitimately compete with more conventional forms of generation. While this is certainly a reality, it is also conditional. Solar profit margins are generally still too slim to overcome less-than-ideal project conditions. The most elemental development ingredient is land; in order to

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