GreeneHurlocker attorney Eric Hurlocker was among the invited guests attending the clean energy bill signing ceremony at the Governor’s mansion this morning. Governor McAuliffe signed eleven pieces of legislation passed by the 2017 General Assembly that will help promote further development of renewable energy in Virginia. The Governor noted that “Virginia is moving in the right direction, especially with the recent announcement of record growth in our solar industry, but there is still work to do.” The Governor also added that while there were only 17 MW of installed solar energy in Virginia at the beginning of 2014, the Commonwealth can now boast of over 1500 MW of solar generation that is either installed or under development today.

Among the legislation signed today was Senate Bill 1393 (Wagner), a community solar bill that will allow customers of Appalachian Power and Dominion to purchase 100% solar energy from new solar facilities located in Virginia. Customers will be permitted to voluntarily “subscribe” to a solar energy rate schedule. Currently, neither utility offers customers an option to purchase 100% solar energy.

Senate Bill 1395 (Wagner), also signed today, will expand the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (“DEQ”) “permit-by-rule” (“PBR”) process to include larger renewable energy facilities. The PBR can often reduce the time and expense necessary to receive the state approvals required to begin construction and operation of a solar or wind facility. Senate Bill 1395 increases the facility size threshold, from 100 MW to 150 MW, which will allow more facilities to be permitted with fewer regulatory burdens from the state. Facilities receiving a PBR are exempted from State Corporation Commission review, so long as the project costs are not recovered from a utility’s ratepayers.

The Governor also signed House Bill 2390 (Kilgore), which will allow non-profit higher education institutions in Appalachian Power’s service territory to purchase 100% renewable energy from non-utility sellers. This bill is intended to address some of the economic challenges faced by colleges who wish to use renewable energy. House Bill 2390, by allowing non-profit colleges to purchase energy from third-party sellers, will permit these institutions to take advantage of federal tax benefits of renewable energy investments.

Please contact one of our renewable energy lawyers or regulatory attorneys should you have questions about these energy bills.