Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Low 36F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..
Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Low 36F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: February 15, 2026 @ 10:46 pm
The Rockingham Board of County Supervisors rejected an application from Valley Solar Farm LLC to build a solar panel facility on Kratzer Road northeast of Harrisonburg.
Despite nine people speaking in favor of the request at the Wednesday night BOCS meeting and many others attending in support, BOCS members denied the request because of the lack of “long-term” jobs the facility would create.
“That was one of the hardest recommendations for denial I’ve ever had in my life,” said Sallie Wolfe-Garrison, whose district includes the proposed solar facility, during the meeting.
Many people who spoke during the meeting touted the facility as a way to bring energy costs down for Rockingham County homes and businesses. Among those who spoke in favor of the solar facility at the meeting was Dylan Taylor from the clean energy nonprofit Energy Right’s Virginia team.
“This project is local generation in its truest sense,” Taylor said. “Reliability close to where power is needed, perfectly scaled, no additional utilities, just clean energy for the county.”
Wyatt Bradshaw, a resident, also spoke in favor of the project, saying it would help lower energy costs for county residents at a time when data centers are driving up energy costs across Virginia.
“This project will produce a ton of money for Rockingham County,” Bradshaw said. “They don’t need anything except permission to build this wonderful plant we need.”
Others supported the proposal because of its environmental impact.
“Because it’s solar, there would be no harmful pollution,” said Janet Trettner of Keezletown. “And it would decrease the need for fossil fuels, which are detrimental to the beauty of our wonderful Shenandoah Valley.”
However, supervisors voted 5-0 to reject the project, saying the planned industrial area where it is located is intended to create long-term jobs for people in Rockingham County, according to the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
The solar farm will not require many employees after it is built, aside from remote operators who do not need to be located in Rockingham County and routine maintenance workers who visit about once or twice a month, according to senior project development manager Paul Cousins.
The solar facility would have been located at 2494 Kratzer Road, near Lakeside Book Company. It would have featured 12 acres of solar panels that tied directly into the local Dominion Energy grid, Cousins said.
Despite rejecting the proposal, county supervisors praised Valley Solar Farm LLC for its community outreach during the process.
“[Valley Solar Farm LLC] did a tremendous job, went to a lot of places, talked to a lot of people,” said supervisor Dewey Ritchie during the meeting.
Contact Anya Sczerzenie at asczerzenie@dnronline.com or 540-208-6789.
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