Henrico County supervisors have given final approval to a plan that will convert a long-closed landfill near Interstate 64 into a small solar generation facility.

The board of supervisors voted to grant Dominion Energy a permit to construct a 2-megawatt array on the old Nine Mile Road Landfill, a 57-acre property near the intersection of Milburn Avenue and Voegier Road — adjacent to Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond’s East End.

The decision follows a Henrico Planning Commission recommendation and subsequent study to approve the project last month.

Dominion intends to use about 16 acres to mount solar panels and above-ground racks to preserve the integrity of the landfill cap, a design previously used on a similar project at the Springfield Road landfill. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade organization, 2MW of solar can power roughly 220–224 homes.

County staff said the proposal “makes productive use of an otherwise dormant property,” as the landfill has been decommissioned in 1978. Staff also said the plan aligns with Henrico’s Comprehensive Plan, which designates the area for government and environmental protection uses.

Dominion Spokesperson Aaron Ruby told VPM News that this project is an example of how to redevelop landfills and other previously disturbed sites for renewable energy,

“Our solar fleet is the third-largest in the country, and it generates enough power for 750,000 homes,” Ruby said. “Earlier this fall, we proposed the largest addition of new solar projects in Virginia history, which will power 300,000 more homes across Virginia.”

Ruby added that solar is important to the company’s mix of reliable energy sources to serve Virginia’s growing energy demands. In a recent filing to the State Corporation Commission, the company claimed it would take an “all of the above” approach in order to meet the commonwealth’s growing energy demand, which is projected to double by 2045.

In a project narrative submitted to the county, Dominion said the facility is part of its long-range effort to expand solar capacity statewide, noting that the company plans to add roughly 16,000 megawatts of solar generation over the next 15 to 20 years.

The proposal comes on the heels of the Squirrels Solar project announced earlier this year at CarMax Park — and recent approval from the state for the utility to recoup costs by increasing base rates through 2027.