Allowing Virginians to generate their own electricity using small solar panel systems plugged in at home was among more than a dozen proposals that a state commission voted Thursday to recommend to the Virginia General Assembly.
The bill would create a new legal category for these “small portable solar generation devices,” which are also called “balcony solar” or “plug-in solar” systems.
Under the proposed law, such systems would be smaller than 1,200 watts in capacity and would plug directly into a home electrical outlet, bypassing the need for a contract with a power company.
Such a system could appeal to renters, apartment residents and homeowners whose houses have roofs that are inadequate for rooftop solar, according to a memo from the staff of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.
“It allows people to hang a solar panel outside their apartment or condominium and plug it into their house so they can net the power in their own little condo or apartment on their own,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, the bill’s patron and the commission chair.
The bill would prohibit local governments and landlords from banning the small solar devices.
Balcony solar systems have been popular in Europe for years and are gaining traction in the United States, according to the Associated Press. Earlier this year, Utah passed a law exempting such systems from utility interconnection requirements, similar to what the Virginia proposal would do.
A rooftop solar system on a house can cost around $25,000 to $40,000, depending on size and available incentives. A plug-in system typically costs $600 to $5,000, according to the commission memo.
For that and other bills that the commission endorsed Thursday to become law, they would need to pass the Virginia General Assembly and be signed by the governor. The General Assembly is scheduled to convene Jan. 14 in Richmond; in even-numbered years, sessions typically last 60 days.
The commission is composed of four state senators, six delegates, three citizen members and a state senior assistant attorney general. Of the 10 elected lawmakers, seven are Democrats and three are Republicans.
Solar siting standards bill renewed with new twist
Another recommendation Thursday from the commission was to create statewide standards for certain local regulations on large-scale solar projects, such as how far back they would be placed from wetlands and streams.
Local governments would incorporate these standards into their ordinances for evaluating utility-scale solar projects, but the bill would not mandate local approval of any solar projects.
“The goal of this bill is to set some reasonable, consistent timelines and standards around what is one of our quickest ways to generate energy,” said the bill’s patron, Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William County.
Mundon King carried a similar bill last session, but it failed to pass the General Assembly.
One addition to her bill this time around is that localities would have to report to the state when and why they reject utility-scale solar proposals, which Surovell said would help create a searchable database to make such information easier to find.
Joe Lerch, director of local government policy for the Virginia Association of Counties, said that local governments oppose the “one-size-fits-all” nature of statewide solar siting standards and would prefer to retain control over their own ordinances.
He also expressed concern about the provision requiring local governments to report solar project rejections to the State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in Virginia.
“That’s something we’ve never had to do before,” Lerch said, adding that the University of Virginia Solar Database already collects data on local solar project decisions.
“Doing the same thing the same way will equal the same result,” Mundon King replied, “and for many Virginians, that could include being in the dark if we don’t do our job to ensure that we are generating the energy that we need.”
Commission recommended solar siting bill last year
Last year, the commission recommended a separate bill for this year’s General Assembly session that would have given the state more control over approval and siting of large solar projects.
That bill underwent various changes as it moved through the General Assembly, and the final version, carried by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, sparked an hour-long debate among about a dozen senators on the Senate floor.
Supporters of the bill said it would provide technical assistance and advice to help local governments, while opponents said it would infringe upon local government authority to decide how land is used.
With all 19 Senate Republicans plus two Democrats opposed, the bill failed to secure the necessary votes to pass the 40-member legislative chamber.
Other failed bills could get another chance
On Thursday, the commission recommended other bills that came before the General Assembly earlier this year but either failed to pass or were vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Some of those bills have since been updated with new provisions.
The recommendations included proposals to create a grant program to help offset the cost of connecting solar facilities to the grid, to incentivize building solar on brownfields and to increase the amount of battery energy storage that Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power must ask regulators for permission to develop.
Battery energy storage systems store electricity during times of low demand and release it during periods of high demand. Proponents say battery storage makes the grid more reliable and keeps costs down.
Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County and the bill’s patron, said other states, such as Texas, are outpacing Virginia’s adoption of battery energy storage systems.
“The industry is ready to come to Virginia in a big way,” he said.
Disconnections dashboard, research reactor get commission’s endorsement
The commission discussed about a dozen other topics during its two-and-a-half-hour meeting Thursday.
They included creating a public online dashboard that aggregates data on utility disconnections, simplifying customer bills for Appalachian Power’s nascent shared solar program and requesting $8 million in the state budget toward nuclear workforce development efforts such as a nuclear test research reactor.
Other topics included recommending that the General Assembly clarify that power companies can delay connecting data centers and other large electricity users to the grid if the utilities lack sufficient power generation, as well as recommending the creation of a consortium of universities to provide localities with technical assistance on solar projects.
While discussing the research reactor budget request and another request to increase the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation’s funding to $1.75 million annually, lawmakers noted that the upcoming state budget could be tight — “a tough year for new money,” as Deeds put it.
“It’s worth the ask to at least engage in the conversation, to try and further this conversation,” Del. Michael Webert, R-Fauquier County, said of the research reactor funding request.
Correction, Dec. 5: The General Assembly is set to convene on Jan. 14; on even-numbered years, the session typically lasts 60 days. The date and duration were incorrect in an earlier version of this story.