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Fairfax County is transforming 37 acres of its closed I-95 landfill into a 5-megawatt solar field capable of producing power equivalent to the electricity used by about 1,000 homes.

The county broke ground on the project June 18. When its 12,000 panels begin operating in spring 2026, the electricity will offset consumption at about 20 of Fairfax County’s nearly 500 buildings through virtual net-metering credits.

It will be the county’s first solar field, its largest solar project and the first project of its kind begun by a Virginia locality on a closed landfill. The installation will supplement rooftop arrays at several government facilities as Fairfax works to reduce energy expenses and reach its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

John Morrill, director of the county’s Office of Environment and Energy Coordination, said the project will represent about 5% of county government’s energy use.

“This is big,” Morrill said, predicting the field will have an outsized benefit compared with more than a dozen smaller solar efforts across the county.

State law sets the project’s size

Although the landfill has more open space, Virginia law limits the installation to 5 megawatts.

The Solar Freedom Act of 2020, sponsored by former Vienna Del. Mark Keam, authorized local governments to install solar or wind facilities of up to 5 megawatts on government-owned property and apply the electricity to government buildings.

The law also raised the share of renewable energy eligible for net metering within a utility’s service territory from 1% to 6%. It expanded access for residential customers and increased their generation-capacity limit to 150% of anticipated annual consumption.

Fairfax County’s installation is modest compared with some large solar developments. California’s largest site generates 579 megawatts from 1.7 million panels spread across five square miles. A private solar project in Spotsylvania County, described as the largest east of the Rocky Mountains, covers 6,350 acres and can produce enough electricity for about 111,000 homes while offsetting 340,000 tons of carbon.

County projects $12 million in savings

Fairfax County will have no upfront development expenses and does not anticipate adding staff for the project.

Madison Energy Infrastructure will finance, build and manage the solar field. The company has developed 400 solar projects across 25 states and will create an interconnection with Dominion Energy’s system.

Under a 30-year agreement, Madison will operate the installation while the county purchases its electricity for 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, below current commercial rates.

Morrill said the arrangement could save Fairfax County $12 million and prevent 136,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the partnership.

The project also gives productive use to land that otherwise has limited development potential.

The landfill array will join other solar installations operated by the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. A rooftop system opened at the Newington Solid Waste Facility in Lorton in 2024, followed by another on the I-66 Transfer Station. An additional array is under construction on the administrative building at the I-95 Landfill Complex.

Fairfax also plans to open Overlook Ridge Park in 2026 on part of a landfill that closed in 2018. Elsewhere, former landfills have become parks, golf courses and nature preserves, including the 165-acre Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach.

Solar continues expanding across Virginia

Virginia had more than 130 utility-scale solar farms with 4,861 megawatts of operating capacity as of June 2025. Twenty-six solar farms were built statewide in 2024, with additional developments under construction or proposed.

Solar plants now generate 13% of Virginia’s electricity, according to the Virginia Department of Energy, and the state ranks ninth nationally for solar-panel installations.

That expansion has also prompted land-use concerns because some projects occupy agricultural or previously forested property. Several Virginia localities have limited how much land may be devoted to solar farms.

Other energy sources still account for most of the commonwealth’s electricity production. Natural gas supplies about 55% and nuclear power about 32%, while coal provides 4%. Wind, hydroelectric power, biomass and geothermal sources collectively contribute about 5%.