A Positive Impact
for Clarke County, Virginia
Soapstone Solar will pay approximately $15 million dollars in tax revenues to Clarke County over its lifetime. These dollars could be used for county improvements such expansion of broadband internet, investment in area schools and other community services – all while preserving farmland and providing clean, locally sourced solar energy to Virginia.
Estimated Tax Revenues*
Machinery and Tools Tax: $12.3M
Revenue Share: $7M
Real Property Tax: $2.2M
- This is a 10-20 fold increase in assessed value of real estate underlying the solar facility which means $2.2M to the county vs. $286K.
*Estimated tax revenues are based on a 35-year project life.
Economic Impact
Soapstone Solar will generate power for 25-35 years and that means long-term benefits for the surrounding region.
- Annual Machinery & Tools Tax or Revenue Share payments to the county for the life of the project.
- Increase in assessed real estate taxes of 10-20x existing assessed value.
- No county infrastructure or public services required for solar development.
- Local and regional construction jobs.
Project Attributes
- Solar is a quiet neighbor and the project avoids the land being developed for houses.
- Agricultural use of the land is maintained with sheep grazing and honey production.
- Topography and remoteness of the site help minimize or have no visibility from Routes 340, 7, 608 and 612
- No new county infrastructure and services required for solar development
- Minimum setback of 500 feet from Rt. 340 and 250 feet from Boom Road
- Annually powers 17,000 homes while offsetting 96,000 metric tons of CO2.*
*Source: Emissions reductions based on EIA state level data for fossil fuel generation replacement. Project emissions are included for entire life cycle based on NREL Harmonization studies as well as foregone forest sequestration per EPA equivalency analysis.
