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

Stafford County Code § 28-39(z) governs solar facilities and energy storage facilities as a special zoning use. 8, and subsection (15) requires the applicant to submit a proposed decommissioning agreement as part of that same CUP application. The decommissioning agreement must be recorded in the land records of the Stafford County Circuit Court and must spell out who currently holds decommissioning responsibility, the types of panels and materials used on-site, the procedures for removing facilities and rehabilitating the site including recompacting, planting and reseeding, a cost estimate for removing all panels, structures, cabling, electrical components, roads and fencing down to 36 inches below grade, and a deadline for finishing the work.

The permit does not end once the CUP is granted: the operator must report any change of ownership or management of the facility to the zoning administrator within 90 days, give the zoning administrator at least 180 days' written notice before repowering the facility, which can trigger new permits, inspections or a revised site plan, and notify the zoning administrator in writing within 30 days if the facility is abandoned or discontinued. Because these ongoing notice duties run with the CUP, an operator who skips them is treated as out of compliance with the conditions of the permit itself, exposing the facility to the same enforcement tools the county uses for any other zoning violation, including a notice of violation, a stop-work order, and civil penalties under Stafford County Code § 28-314.