Renewable Energy Development Atlas

DEQ is excited to share the release of the Renewable Energy Development Atlas (REDA), a resource that provides geospatial data on utility-scale renewable energy permits across Virginia. This dataset brings together permits from DEQ and the State Corporation Commission (SCC), giving a detailed view of renewable energy development statewide. Key features of REDA include full coverage of utility-scale renewable energy permits approved by both DEQ and SCC, precise georeferenced permit boundaries aligned with statewide parcel data, and ongoing updates as new permits are issued.

If you’d like to explore the dataset, you can download REDA here, or view it via the DEQ Environmental Data Mapper.

Data Access Quick Links:

• Web Soil Survey

• Ecological Cores

• CAPZ

• Chesapeake Bay resource protection areas

• W&M bald eagle nesting locations

• DWR's VFWIS web-based application 

 Construction General Permit Stormwater Contact

• Small renewable energy projects authorized by permit-by-rule to construct and operate are also required to obtain a construction general permit via DEQ's Construction Stormwater Management Program given the project's land disturbance is equal to or greater than one acre. For pre-app meetings, please email: swplanreviewers@deq.virginia.gov

Reports

• Soil-Site Management Protocols & Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Utility Scale Solar Site (USS) Development and Management in Virginia - This white paper was published May 12, 2024, and authored by staff from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 

• Developing Solar Energy in Rural Virginia: An Analysis of Legal, Environmental and Policy Issues - This solar policy paper analyzes the legal, environmental, and policy issues involved with developing solar energy in rural Virginia and was authored by  the Virginia Coastal Policy Center at William and Mary Law School. 
  
  
• Decommissioning Utility-Scale Solar Facilities - This report examines how Virginia localities can minimize their risk of bearing solar facility decommissioning obligations without increasing barriers and costs to developers and was released through the Energy Transition Initiative at UVA's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.