Strongly oppose this bill. Any decision on county solar projects should be made by local legislation in that county, not at the state level or any outside county group. How in the world is it fair to allow people from/living in counties miles away, decide if solar farms should be approved in a county they do not live in/have any tie to. This bill punishes folks who live in/are from rural counties by allowing an “outside the county” board/group of people, who have no ties to the community, land, legislation, etc. in the rural county, approve a solar farm to be built.

STRONGLY OPPOSE HB711. Keep local zoning decisions local.

I strongly oppose HB 711, which undermines local self-governance & threatens rural Virginia’s way of life. This legislation represents state overreach by stripping localities of meaningful control over large-scale solar development & prioritizing corporate interests over community needs. Rural Virginians deserve the right to decide what is built in their own backyards. I urge you to vote NO on HB 711. Key reasons this bill is harmful: • Erosion of Local Control: Standardized criteria limit localities’ ability to tailor rules to their unique landscapes and values. Rural communities must retain full authority to approve or reject large solar projects. • Threat to Farmland & Heritage: Allowing ground-mounted solar by right in agricultural zones accelerates productive farmland loss, raises land costs, displaces family farms, and weakens Virginia’s agricultural economy. Local governments must retain authority to protect this critical resource. • Inadequate Environmental Safeguards: The minimal setbacks from roads or property lines & permissive land-disturbance standards fail to adequately protect wetlands, streams, forests, & wildlife. Large solar installations risk soil erosion, water pollution, & habitat loss, & localities need stronger authority to prevent irreversible damage. • Karst-Specific Risks: In the Shenandoah Valley’s fragile karst terrain, characterized by sinkholes, caves, & direct surface-to-groundwater connections. Large solar installations pose severe & potentially permanent risks. Altered subsurface hydrology could trigger sinkhole formation or collapse during or after construction. Inadequate stormwater management may contaminate groundwater as runoff infiltrates voids or sinkholes, threatening nearby drinking water wells. Underestimated impervious surfaces or incorrect soil assumptions could result in excessive runoff that exceeds karst-adjusted limits, requiring costly redesigns or leading to system failures. Missing geotechnical studies, such as dye tracing or borings, leave pollutant pathways unknown. These high-severity risks require stricter local oversight, not statewide minimums that fail to account for karst vulnerabilities. • Damage to Property Values & Rural Character: Massive solar arrays threaten scenic landscapes, reduce nearby property values, deter tourism, & erode the peaceful, open character that defines rural VA. Local governments are best positioned to protect natural beauty & community quality of life. • Economic Burden on Local Communities: While out-of-state developers benefit financially, rural taxpayers bear long-term risks from decommissioning failures & limited local economic returns. Communities should retain the right to negotiate or reject projects that impose long-term costs without meaningful local benefits. • Risk to Historic and Cultural Assets: The bill’s vague visual-impact provisions provide insufficient protection for rural historic sites, scenic byways, & cultural landmarks. Local governments, with firsthand knowledge of these assets, must retain zoning authority to prevent their degradation. HB711 weakens the principle of local governance that sustains VA’s diverse communities. Rural areas with sensitive geology stand to lose the most from this centralized approach, which fails to account for long-term environmental & community impacts. Please stand for Virginians by rejecting this bill & preserving every locality’s right to shape its own future.

I oppose HB711, please vote No against a bill that interferes with local government decisions.

I urge you all to oppose any and all legislation in regards to industrial solar and battery storage that takes the power away from localities to decide what is best for them. More specifically HB711. I look out my back door and I see nature, beautiful nature, and I would like to keep it that way, as I am sure the majority of the rural population of this State would agree. Most of us either have known no other way of life, or moved in order to have that way of life. The localities know what their citizens want and expect from the leaders they voted for and the State should not take that away from the localities in order to force a renewable energy that has proven over and over that it is not the right thing anywhere. Please, as you are deciding on this matter, I ask that you look beyond party lines and think of our beautiful State of Virginia. Let's keep it that way! Thank You.

I encourage you to not support HB 711 and HB 891. These two bills infringe on localities rites to site. Both Solar and BESS need to be thoughtfully planned. They are Heavy Industrial sites. They should be in Brown areas and not on prime farm and timber land. The companies are LLCs and can fold up and leave town at any time. Local fire departments are not equipped to handle fires at these sites and the standard is to let them burn. Just look what is ongoing at Moss Landing BESS a year later. It will take a very long time to recovery from that. We have had fires and many DEQ violations here in Virginia. The energy they produce may be “green” but to get to that is not green. Here in Prince George County we had a company that wanted to surround six homes in the middle of the project. Homes should be a mile away from these sites and not 75 to a 100 feet. Every site should be considered locally not by people that do not live here. Roof top is what should be focused on. It needs to be affordable and we should not be penalized from disconnecting from the grid. The electric companies are raising our rates to pay for BESS and Solar while racking in profits. Why are the tax payers penalized while they profit from taking from out rural life. Please do not forget about us.

Comments Document

I OPPOSE this bill that seeks to undermine local authority on siting solar installations, that most importantly, produce so little unreliable electric power that those in existence should be shuttered down. See attachment for how poorly Virginia solar facilities are performing, and held to no regulatory standards!! Virginia localities, especially rural counties, have had our farms, forests, waterways, and view sheds destroyed since this scam was unleashed via the VCEA, and it has only been by wise leadership and Democratic citizen input that each locality has created their own guardrail and ordinances based upon the kinship, history and geography of where we live. We will not stand for state mandates to usurp our local authority on siting solar!

I oppose this Bill, and any Bill, that takes away, reduces, removes, restricts, or eliminates local land use decision making from local, county, city, governments. My voting and support will reflect my position on this.

I am opposed to any bill that would remove land-use decision making from the locality. The State should not be making these decisions.

Once again an effort to take away localities rights to site, words are struck from this bill. Our governor ran on the premises of roof top solar and brown fields. Not enough has been done in those areas, instead of raping prime farmlands and timber with INDUSTRIAL SOLAR. It needs special exceptions and zoning for a reason! There is nothing green about SOLAR. They put out a minimal amount of electricity for how much the cost to install and ultimately the cost of destroying prime agricultural land. Solar IS NOT an agricultural crop. Outside LLC companies care nothing of where they site these acre consuming monstrosity. They can walk away from these projects at any time. Please protect our rural counties!

I am against any bill that usurps the authority of a local government to make decisions about local land.

I wish to express my opposition to HB 711. This bill takes away the authority of local governing bodies to make land use decisions based on what is best for their locality and their residents. Land use should be determined by those directly affected, not by a state ordinance or any person or agency at the state level. Local governing bodies and the citizens they represent understand the economic, cultural, and environmental nuances of the local area and the effects land use has on the local economy and environment while considering the unique culture of each local area. Thus, the local governing bodies representing their local citizens should make these decisions, not government officials and/or members of the General Assembly at the state level. The local citizens will have to live with these land use decisions therefore, their local government representatives should be empowered to make these decisions at the local level. I ask that you please vote NO on HB 711. This bill is a direct effort to allow large, industrial scale solar on agricultural (farm and timber) lands whether the local governing board or planning commission determines such use is inappropriate. These decisions should be made LOCALLY, within the county or town. I OPPOSE THIS BILL.

I am OPPOSED to HB711 because it appears to take land-use decisions away from localities. Striking the following verbiage: "subject to any applicable zoning regulations of the locality" and replacing it with "permitted pursuant to § 15.2-2288.8 unless otherwise permitted by right” is a direct effort to allow large, industrial scale solar on agricultural (farm and timber) lands whether the local governing board or planning commission determines such use is inappropriate. These decisions should be made LOCALLY, within the county or town. I OPPOSE THIS BILL.