Solar Farm League: Dominion Plans Rooftop Solar for New Ballpark

The Flying Squirrels are elevating their sustainability profile with a new solar array coming to a future stadium.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Virginia minor league baseball team within the San Francisco Giants farm system, are contracting utility Dominion Energy Virginia to install more than 1,700 solar panels at the club’s future CarMax Park. Those panels will be atop the stadium’s two-tiered roof, as well as solar installed at carports in the adjacent lot.

Dominion Energy will begin the work on the distributed energy project after the Squirrels’ 2026 season. The project is still awaiting local and state approval.

“We’re thrilled that such an iconic Richmond landmark will help deliver reliable, affordable and increasingly clean power for our customers,” said Ed Baine, Dominion Energy’s Executive Vice President of Utility Operations and President of Dominion Energy Virginia.

Altogether, the Squirrels’ solar array could generate about 1 MW of carbon-free electricity at capacity. CarMax Park is expected to be completed by the start of the team’s 2026 season and will serve as an anchor in the city’s newly named Diamond District, currently under redevelopment.

“This solar project represents the kind of integrated, collaborative approach that’s essential to achieving Richmond’s clean energy goals,” said Laura Thomas, Director of the City of Richmond’s Office of Sustainability. “It’s a great example of how public, private, and community partners can come together around a shared vision for a more resilient, sustainable future.”

The Richmond Flying Squirrels franchise, which previously was in Connecticut, has played in the Class AA Eastern League since 1995 and part of the Giants’ farm system since 2010.

Dominion Energy has developed and installed close to 2.2 GW of large-scale solar energy in 10 states since 2013.