Gov. Glenn Youngkin has given his OK to legislation that will create a shared solar program for Appalachian Power customers and expand Dominion Energy’s existing program.
SB 255, from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, and HB 108, from Del. Rip Sullivan Jr., D-Fairfax County, will create a 50-megawatt shared solar program available to Appalachian Power customers. Surovell’s SB 253 and Sullivan’s HB 106 will expand Dominion’s existing program, first authorized in 2020, from 200 megawatts to 350.
[Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Late Monday night, Youngkin announced that he had signed more than 770 bills, and those four are on the list. He could have amended or vetoed them instead.
As the bills progressed through the Virginia General Assembly during this past session, they passed on mostly party-line votes.
A shared solar, or community solar, program allows an electric utility customer to buy solar energy from a third-party company without the customer owning solar panels. Supporters say shared solar programs advance clean energy and can help customers save money, while opponents say that they shift costs onto other ratepayers.
Generally speaking, shared solar subscribers earn credits by purchasing renewable energy through the program. When those credits exceed the program’s costs, subscribers can save money.
It’s unclear exactly how soon Appalachian customers will be able to begin subscribing to shared solar. The legislation instructs the State Corporation Commission to establish Appalachian’s program no later than Jan. 1 and requires the utility to provide information on tariffs and other requirements to implement the program by July 1, 2025.
Among the things the SCC must consider: Shared solar participants must pay a monthly minimum bill to help cover the costs of maintaining the electric grid; that minimum has been a point of contention as program supporters say that Dominion’s is too high, making shared solar cost-effective only for low-income subscribers who are exempt from paying the minimum.
The legislation directs the SCC to reevaluate Dominion’s minimum and establish Appalachian’s minimum, considering not just the costs that utilities want to recover but also the value that solar power provides via energy production and grid upgrades.
Unlike Dominion’s program, Appalachian’s program will not include an exemption from the monthly minimum for low-income customers, but the legislation does include language intended to guarantee that low-income customers see some financial savings.