Solar Energy

Cooper Center's solar database helps Virginians track solar projects statewide.

In 2024, Virginia localities rejected more megawatts than they approved. A Cooper Center database shows that in 2025, that trend has reversed.

Companies are investing billions in solar power projects as traditional grid capacity proves insufficient for massive data center energy demands.

Thirteen commercial solar developments have been approved in far Southwest Virginia since 2020, according to a state database.

Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service has partnered with the state’s Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) to host an advisory program, SolSmart, aimed to help local governments implement and embrace solar energy.

The political divide over solar is also a geographical one.

Localities have continued to approve new data center proposals with little thought given to where and how they will get the power to serve them.

The staff of a commission focused on electric utility regulation also recommended establishing a process under which the state could potentially take over from localities the approval process for solar projects deemed to be of “statewide significance."

The database, from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, also shows a drop in local approvals of solar projects.