VACo County Pulse Podcast

Energy Landscape of Virginia | DEQ Solar Permit-By-Rule Regulations – HB 206

Virginia Association of Counties Season 4 Episode 4

Draft Revisions to DEQ Solar Permit-By-Rule (PBR) Regulations – HB 206

This episode reviews regulations that amend the requirements for utility-scale solar installations to receive state permits to operate. Specifically, a 2022 law – commonly referred to as HB 206 - requires that applicants must avoid, minimize or otherwise mitigate certain losses to prime farmland and forests in order to get approval. In a conversation with Jonathan Rak and Susan Tripp with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), we learn the details of the draft regulations, focusing on important aspects that counties will want to know, opportunities to comment on the draft, and next steps in the process before they become effective.

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