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YORK — Almost seven years after York County approved a solar project on a former Navy underground fuel store, the site remains overgrown, only partially accessible, and plagued by a host of issues.
The King’s Creek solar farm has been delayed by the complex nature of the site, ground pollution, an interconnection delay, and Dominion parting ways with the contractor, Will McCahill, a project manager told the York County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 18.
The former Navy fuel storage site off Penniman Road to the east of Williamsburg is earmarked for a 20-megawatt solar facility. York County’s Board of Supervisors approved the project in late 2019.
In 2023, Crystal Bright of Dominion Energy told neighbors that construction was scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2024.
However, minimal work has taken place. Some roads are barely accessible, according to McCahill.
He said Dominion received land disturbance approval in August 2025. Work should begin in March 2027 with “substantial completion in the third quarter of ‘28,” he said.
“Some of the timelines have slipped for this project,” McCahill said.
“There’s large underground storage tanks,” he said. The preliminary plan approved by the board entailed building solar arrays above the subterranean tanks. It has been changed to “mitigate any risk,” McCahill said.
“We don’t want any heavy equipment falling through 100-year-old concrete tanks,” McCahill told the board. “There’s also a lot of open valve pits.” He said the holes will have to be covered or ringed with fences to make sure operators and construction crews remain safe.
McCahill said the site is covered in kudzu and bamboo and needs to be stabilized. “We need to prevent the spread of invasive species within our site.” He said a robust vegetation management plan is required. He said roads will have to be cleared.
The site also suffers from hydrocarbon contamination, McCahill said. “We have done additional diligence on the site and confirmed there are some hydrocarbon-impacted soils,” he said. “We are planning to take additional measures beyond the normal erosion and sediment control to prevent any infiltration of groundwater into our stormwater.”
The project has also been delayed by connection issues. “Approximately a year ago, in coordination with our distribution partners, we identified that we do not have rights to install communication fiber on the distribution line we are connecting to. That line runs through the Navy property,” McCahill said. A real estate permission process will soon begin with the Navy, taking about 18 months. The line will take about six months to complete.
McCahill said Dominion executed the asset purchase agreement in 2021. However, the project is unlikely to be substantially completed until late 2028 or early 2029, according to graphics shown to the board.
He said Dominion ended the original contract due to the issues with the site and the contractor’s performance on other Dominion projects. “We are beginning a new RFP process to identify a new contractor,” he said.
McCahill promised to keep the Board of Supervisors updated on the progress.
David Macaulay, davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
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