Riverstone Solar faces accusations. Buckingham hires inspectors

Published 1:57 am Saturday, August 2, 2025

The Riverstone Solar project is too big for Buckingham County staff to inspect. There’s just too much space for one person to cover. That’s something the county has been aware of since before they approved the solar operation, Buckingham County Administrator Karl Carter told supervisors earlier this month. It’s also why they negotiated a section in the contract to hire third-party inspectors and have Riverstone cover the cost. 

County supervisors chose that third-party group and signed off on a contract during the board’s Monday, July 14 meeting, after hearing multiple accusations from residents involving Riverstone. Residents claimed the solar project had violated both the county special use permit requirements and those laid out by state and federal law. Those are accusations that have followed the project since it originally received a permit from Buckingham, back in November 2021.

Riverstone’s parent company, Apex Clean Energy, is accused of completely ignoring some of the conditions agreed upon in order to get Buckingham’s approval and that of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality back in 2021. They’re also accused of using access roads not built for heavy machinery to bring in construction equipment, among other things. The argument is that Apex agreed to one set of rules, then turned around and failed to follow them once construction actually started. However, in order to prove any of that, regular inspections need to take place. 

A need to inspect Riverstone Solar

Before we go any further, here’s a quick explanation about what this project is. Riverstone Solar received a special use permit to build and operate a 149-megawatt solar facility in the northern end of Buckingham County. It’s spread out over four parcels of land, consisting of nearly 2,000 acres. The property is roughly bound by Bridgeport Road to the south, Route 20 to the west, Hardware Road to the east and is divided through the center by Paynes Pond Road.

According to the company’s presentation at the Nov. 2021 vote, the goal is for power generated at the facility to be linked to the existing electrical transmission grid. This would be connected through the current 148 kilovolt overhead high high voltage transmission line. The idea would be to keep track of how much energy is produced, any potential damage and what needs to be placed. 

But it’s the size of the project which has led to some concerns, along with the need to hire a third-party inspector. 

“A project with that much acreage and our one inspector, he would be out there constantly, 24 hours a day and still not get that information obtained,” Carter said of Riverstone. “And especially every time it rains, he would have to go out there, so he would never get any other duties done.” 

That’s partly due to the size, as mentioned, as it spans almost 2,000 acres. But it’s also due to the schedule required. The state requires sites to be inspected every 14 days, plus once a month general inspections after construction is complete, to monitor erosion and settlement control. And since Buckingham doesn’t have enough staff to do that job, the county will turn to Hurt & Profitt. 

Breaking down the deal 

As mentioned, the contract with Riverstone allows Buckingham County to hire a firm to inspect the property. Then in turn, Riverstone is required to pay for it. 

“We can hire a firm, in this case we’re contracting with Hurt and Proffitt, they have the resources to handle those kind of inspections,” Carter said. “They work for the county, we pay them an invoice and then Riverstone will reimburse us. They will not be contracted by Riverstone, they’ll report to the county.”

In this case, that means paying a mix and match of whoever is needed on a given day between $95 an hour for an environmental scientist and $130 for an environmental professional, $140 per hour for an environmental manager and $150 per hour for a professional engineer. This would be at an average period of seven to eight hours a day, when inspections take place. 

Supervisors asked if, in addition to the inspections, the Hurt & Proffitt staff would be able to look into some of the complaints and allegations made against Riverstone and they were told yes. If there are violations, the staff will report that back to the county. 

What’s the process? 

And what if they do find violations, supervisors asked. What’s the process for the county to deal with that? 

“On all of our applications, SUP (special use permit) included, (one of) the first lines is they have to comply with all state and federal rules,” Carter explained. “So if they’re in violation of any kind of federal rule, state rule, we would be notified. And if that problem cannot be (fixed), we can pull their permit.”

In other words, the Hurt & Proffitt staff will report back with any confirmed violations. Buckingham County will then notify Apex and give the company a chance to fix the violations. If this is a problem that can’t be fixed, then Buckingham supervisors have the ability to step in and pull the permit. 

Now with the contract in place, inspections will begin for Riverstone Solar, with results brought to the supervisors later this year.