SB588 • 2026

Solar facilities; Department of Energy to develop criteria to determine appropriateness of sites.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to require the Department of Energy to develop criteria for the purpose of determining the appropriateness of sites for solar facilities.</p>

Energy

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Marsden
Last action: 2026-02-17
Official status: Failed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not mention the Department of Environmental Quality in its requirements, only the Department of Energy.

Developing Criteria for Solar Facility Sites

This bill requires the Department of Energy to develop criteria and assign scores from one to 100 for determining if sites are suitable for solar facilities.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Department of Energy to develop criteria for assessing the appropriateness of potential siting areas for solar facilities.
Assigns a siting appropriateness score from one to 100 for each area upon request by land owners and solar facility developers.
Establishes a scoring committee to review applications for proposed solar facilities starting January 1, 2027.
Requires host localities to forward completed land use applications for proposed solar facilities to the Department of Energy.

Who It Names or Affects

The Department of Energy
Local governments that approve or deny building permits for solar projects
Companies planning to build new solar power plants

Terms To Know

Host locality: A local government within which a proposed solar facility is planned.
Solar facilities: Commercial solar photovoltaic (electric energy) generation facilities, excluding small projects under 5 megawatts or those described in specific sections of Virginia's Code of Virginia.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how the scoring committee will be funded.
It is unclear what happens if a locality disagrees with the score given by the Department of Energy.

Bill History

2026-02-17 Senate
Left in Finance and Appropriations
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate committee offered
2026-02-05 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 4-N 1-A)
2026-02-02 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB588)
2026-01-14 Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105042D
2026-01-14 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

Official Summary Text

Department of Energy; developing criteria to determine the appropriateness of sites for solar facilities.
Requires the Department of Energy (the Department) to develop a set of criteria to be used by reviewers to (i) assess the appropriateness of potential siting areas and (ii) assign a siting appropriateness score from one to 100 for each area and to establish a scoring committee to review applications for proposed solar facilities. Beginning January 1, 2027, the bill requires every completed land use application for a proposed solar facility to be forwarded by the host locality to the Department for evaluation and scoring. The bill provides that the locality shall continue to have final authority for approval or disapproval of a proposed solar facility.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL NO. 588

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

on ________________)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Marsden)

A BILL to require the Department of Energy and Department of Environmental Quality to develop criteria for the purpose of determining the appropriateness of sites for solar facilities.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.

A.
As used in this a
ct
:

"Host locality" means any locality within the jurisdictional boundaries of which construction of a

solar
facility
is proposed.

"Solar facilities" means commercial solar photovoltaic (electric energy) generation facilities. "Solar facilities" does not include any solar project that is (i) described in §
56-594
,
56-594.01
,
56-594.02
, or
56-594.2
of the Code of Virginia
or (ii) five megawatts or less.

B
.
The Department
of Energy
and Department of Environmental Quality
(the Department
s
)
shall develop
a
set of criteria to be used by reviewers to
(i)
assess th
e
appropriateness
of
potential siting
area
s and
(ii)
assign a
siting
appropriateness score
from
one to
100

for
each area
upon the request of
the land owner and the solar facility developer
.

The criteria shall include
(
a
) topography, (
b
)
proximity
to t
ransmission lines, (
c
) tree coverage, (
d
)
agricultural use
, (
e
) potential for screening,
and
(
f
) other relevant criteria as determined by the Department
s
.

C
.
The Department
s
shall establish a scoring committee to review
applications for proposed solar facilities.
The scoring committee shall consist of as many members as deemed appropriate by the Department
s
including at least one solar facility developer
and
shall also include one appointment each by the Governor, the Speaker of the House
of
Delegates, and
the

Senate Committee on Rules
.

D
.
Beginning Janua
ry 1, 202
7
,
a develop
er, with the consent of the landowner
of a potential siting area
, may request the
D
epartments to provide to the developer
a

siting appropriateness score
based on the criteria develo
ped pursuant to this
act
.
A completed application
for a proposed solar facility
shall
address the c
riteria
established by the Department
s
. The Department
s
shall
submit the completed application to the scoring committee for evaluation.
The scoring committee shall complete its evaluation within
a time frame as established by general law
and shall submit
its
score
, along with the criteria and
documentation
used to determine the score,
for the proposed solar facility
to the
locality.
The locality shall continue to
have final a
uthority for approval
or disapproval
of such solar facility
.