A photo voltaic array for a Virginia elementary faculty by Solar Tribe.
On July 22, the Virginia State Company Fee denied the Coalition for Neighborhood Photo voltaic Entry’ (CCSA) Petition for Reconsideration and Clarification of its current ruling affecting shared photo voltaic in Appalachian Energy Firm (APCo) territory.
At challenge is the “minimal invoice” — a compulsory cost prospects should pay to take part in shared photo voltaic —which has made the financial worth proposition for purchasers untenable until they qualify as low-income and are exempt.
Whereas 2024 laws directed the Fee to recalculate this cost to mirror the advantages shared photo voltaic supplies to the grid and the Commonwealth, the Fee issued solely an interim determination on June 30, adopting APCo’s revised proposal — with out resolving discrepancies within the utility proposal or confirming key elements of the invoice’s construction. This determination denied the requested clarification, leaving important questions unanswered till no less than later this yr.
Charlie Coggeshall, Mid-Atlantic regional director of the Coalition for Neighborhood Photo voltaic Entry (CCSA), issued the next assertion on the ruling:
“Yesterday’s SCC ruling leaves shared photo voltaic in Appalachian Energy territory in a state of full uncertainty. Tasks are able to ship invoice financial savings to prospects and clear, dependable vitality to the grid. However with the minimal invoice — this system’s most important financial lever — nonetheless up within the air, builders don’t have any clear path to maneuver ahead.
“Laws handed final yr directed the Fee to make sure shared photo voltaic prospects are charged pretty, reflecting the total advantages these tasks present to the grid and the Commonwealth. However the Fee’s determination at present fails to do this. As a substitute, it punts core questions concerning the construction and value of participation right into a future continuing — possible too late for tasks to qualify for remaining federal incentives beneath the photo voltaic Funding Tax Credit score, which is being quickly phased out by the OBBB Act.
“With no workable and well-defined minimal invoice, this program can’t succeed. We urge the Fee to behave swiftly this fall to supply regulatory readability and unlock the financial savings, jobs, and vitality safety that shared photo voltaic is able to ship in Virginia.”
Information merchandise from CCSA
