Did you know that there are 68 endangered and threatened species in Virginia that are at risk from large-scale solar projects?
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed by Congress in 1973 to protect fish, wildlife, and plants from becoming extinct. Congress judged that these various species are of ecological, historical, and scientific value to the country and that it is critical to protect them from extinction or even the threat of extinction.
“Endangered” species are any species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
“Threatened” species are any species that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or most of its range.
The Endangered Species Act requires states, including Virginia, to conserve endangered and threatened species by taking the necessary steps to protect them, including by establishing and protecting their critical habitats.
Why is this important?
It’s important because, for all solar projects under 150 MW, the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) shifts the responsibility for protecting endangered and threatened species from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) over to solar industry developers, who only have to file paperwork describing mitigation plans to DEQ.
To see which species are at risk in your county, check these lists of endangered and threatened species by county and by species, and by consulting our page on the Environmental Conservation Online System website. And please speak up to your elected officials to make sure we’re protecting and conserving our precious wildlife resources.