Virginia bills would grant state more authority in the siting of renewable energy projects

Another state is moving to reduce local control in the permitting of renewable energy projects, joining states like Michigan and New York.

Virginia now has two bills in its legislature that attempt to create a procedure for a wind or solar developer to get approval for a project through the State Corporation Commission rather than a local governing body, according to TKR News.

Local opposition has become a formidable force in rejecting such projects, and more than a dozen states are looking to grant more authority to state authorities to override local restrictions and decisions in the siting of renewable energy projects.

“I think all Virginians should be concerned that the state legislature would want to override what is typically reserved for a municipality or a local community,” Joe Borne, a volunteer spokesperson for a coalition that is opposing a transmission line project that will run through Virginia beach, told WTKR.

The project will support developer Avangrid’s proposed Kitty Hawk offshore wind farm.