Category: Meetings

Dominion Energy is constructing a 62.5-watt solar facility on a 663-acre site just five miles southwest of Lake of the Woods.

The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club has invited a representative of the company to explain and answer questions about the project at its monthly meeting February 9 in Classroom 2 at the LOW Community Center. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. with a meet-and-greet session, and the program will commence at 1:30 p.m.

Sarah Marshall, external affairs manager for Dominion Energy, will discuss the project, called Madison Solar, the first utility-scale solar project in Orange County.

Construction at the facility, located off Route 20 near Locust Grove Primary School, began in August 2021. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.

About 200 workers will be employed in erecting framework, installing solar panels, doing environmental monitoring and electrical work during the construction phase. After the project begins operation, very few employees will remain on site.

Dominion Energy has estimated that the project will generate about $200,000 per year in direct benefit to Orange County through taxes, according to a company spokesman.

When in operation, the Madison Solar plant is expected to supply 62.5 megawatts of electricity, which will be used by Northrop Grumman Corp., of Falls Church, a defense technology contractor, to meet its renewable energy goals.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a special use permit for the project in December 2017 for SolUnesco, a company based in Reston, Virginia. One year later, SolUnesco sold the undeveloped project to Cypress Creek Renewables, a California-based company. Dominion Energy acquired the project in August 2021 as part of a bid to expand its clean energy portfolio. Dominion currently has about 20 solar projects either completed or under construction in Virginia.

Marshall has been with Dominion’s external affairs department for six years and its manager since January 2021. She is a graduate of James Madison University and holds a master of public administration degree from Clemson University. She lives in Madison County.

The meeting will be open to the public without regard to political affiliation. Face coverings and social distancing will be required for safety.

Dominion Energy’s Madison Solar project

Solar power programs at Dominion Energy

“Combating Food Insecurity in Central Virginia” will be the subject of the September 8 meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club.

Dan Maher, president and chief executive officer of the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, and Nicki Buell, director of the Lions Wilderness Food Pantry in Locust Grove, will speak about the role of their organizations in addressing the needs of our food insecure neighbors. They will also discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their programs and offer suggestions for ways citizens can help.

The meeting will begin with a meet-and-greet session at 1 p.m. in Classroom 2 of the Lake of the Woods Community Center at Sweetbriar Park. The program will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Maher, who grew up in Hampton, Virginia, attended The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, where he earned a B.B.A. degree in business management. He continued his education at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, obtaining a master of divinity degree.

Subsequently, he spent almost 15 years in a variety of roles in ministerial and religious settings in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., before returning to Virginia to work three years as director of education at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News. His non-profit organization career path then led him to the Beaumont, Texas, area, where he served as vice president for development and communications with Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas for four years, followed by nearly eight years as chief executive officer of the Southeast Texas Food Bank within the Feeding America network.

Maher’s recent move within the Feeding America network has returned him to Virginia. He began serving the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank in January of this year.

Buell has has been an active volunteer with the Lions Wilderness Food Pantry since 2017. For the past four years she has been responsible for setting up the “link to feed” program as well as preparing and submitting all monthly federal reports.

Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank

Lions Wilderness Food Pantry