Spotsylvania County, VA Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

§ 23-4.5.7(d) sets use-specific standards for a "Solar energy facility (SEF) in the A-2, A-3, and Ru districts," each requiring a special use permit under § 23-4.5.2. Equipment inside an approved SEF may be replaced or upgraded over the facility's life only if the change does not increase visibility from adjoining properties; any redesign that would increase visibility beyond what the special use permit approved requires an amendment to that permit. The county also requires that fire, rescue, and emergency services access to the site be acceptable to the county, that noise stay within the limits applied to residential development under § 14.51, and that any panel-cleaning products used be biodegradable.

Applicants must submit a view shed analysis, a map showing any airports within five miles (triggering required notice to the airport and the FAA's Washington Airports District Office), and a construction phasing plan covering the project's anticipated life, phasing, and completion date. A decommissioning plan, notarized by the landowner and applicant, must identify who is responsible for decommissioning, the timeline and manner of restoring the site, and licensed-engineer cost estimates for both decommissioning and post-decommissioning restoration; the landowner or applicant must post a surety, in the form of a bond, cash account, or cash escrow, equal to the removal cost before a site plan permit issues, adjusted for inflation over the project's life and updated every two years after approval.

A component inoperable for more than one continuous year is deemed abandoned, triggering zoning-administrator notice of the "date of abandonment." The applicant or landowner then has one year to repair, replace, or remove the abandoned component, or the county may use the surety to remove it itself and pursue the responsible parties for any funding shortfall, including attorney fees and zoning fines. In the Mixed Use district, a smaller-scale accessory solar array is treated differently: § 23-6.28.4 allows "sustainable energy systems, including solar panels and wind turbines" to extend into a required rear or side setback if kept at least three feet from the lot line, and lets roof-mounted units exceed the district's height limit by up to twelve feet.