Virginia's first shared solar facilities come online

Virginia’s first “shared solar ” facilities are now online, and the state is set for a major expansion. Shared solar is a way for people who cannot afford solar panels, or do not own land to put them on, to tap the sun and save on power bills.

For utility customers who sign up for these, or the other shared solar facilities set to start in the months ahead, the electricity that shared solar systems feed into Dominion Energy ’s grid translates to a 10% credit against their power bills.

With a flip of some switches last month, a fleet of five small-scale solar farms pumps up to 27.4 megawatts of electricity into Virginia’s grid. The developer, Dimension Renewable Energy , will add two more next month, for an additional 10.7 megawatts – in all, enough to power 6,000 households.

The Waynesboro Bridge Solar facility is among the first shared solar operations that enable people who can't put up their own panels to save money by accessing solar power.

The company has more in the works, and legislation that Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law last month will speed their move online, said Bryan Bentrott, Dimension vice president.

“Our clean energy future is now,” he said.

One element in this year’s legislation that will help this effort is a 200-megawatt expansion of shared solar authorized within Dominion’s territory, which covers much of central, Northern and Tidewater Virginia, as well as large portions of Southside and the Shenandoah Valley.

For Dimension, with facilities now operating in Augusta, Lancaster and Prince Edward counties, as well as the cities of Waynesboro and Suffolk, lifting that cap should move Dimension’s plans for shared solar facilities in Pittsylvania, Orange and Isle of Wight counties into service faster, along with its plans for additional facilities in Lancaster and Prince Edward, Bentrott said.

Managing up-front costs

The idea behind shared solar starts with the idea that once solar panels are up, the cost of the power they produce is essentially nothing. But the upfront cost can be more than many electric utility customers can afford. Putting up panels is not possible for many others, because they rent their homes, or do not own enough land.

A shared solar program connects these ratepayers with someone who has a small amount of land available for a small-scale solar farm. Dimension's facilities, for instance, range between 3.8 and 6.7 megawatts, and are usually on 25 to 30 acres that a farmer or other rural landowner does not want for some other purpose.

Dimension Renewable Energy expects to bring this shared solar facility in Rockbridge County online next month.

They can as well be located on an apartment building roof, brownfields, or landfills under the expansion of the program in this year’s legislation.

“Shared solar is much smaller so they can fit onto sites that are much smaller,” said Greg Habeeb, a lobbyist and former state delegate, who represents solar companies. “They don’t need hundreds of acres and they can be close to the people getting the power.”

Big solar farms spark opposition

That matters because bigger projects – the kind Dominion Energy has been adding to its fleet, now the nation’s second largest – can take up hundreds of acres. Large, "utility scale" solar farms often spark opposition from neighbors, often arguing that they impose environmental costs locally but mainly benefit people who live far away.

Last year, Prince George County rejected a 100-megawatt facility that RWE wanted to erect on 506 acres of a 1,295-acre site. Mecklenburg County said no to a proposed 90-megawatt project proposed for more than 1,000 acres.

After two rejections, Energix Renewables is trying again for Dinwiddie County to give a green light for its Lily Pond solar facility, on 500 acres of a 1,900-acre tract.

Connecting a big solar farm to the grid requires high voltage lines and approval of the interconnection by PJM Interconnection, the manager of a 13-state high voltage network that stretches from Virginia to New York and west to Illinois. The queue of applications there is long.

But the smaller scale of shared solar facilities means they can link into lower-voltage lines, for which negotiating an interconnection agreement is simpler and requires only Dominion’s approval, said Bentrott.

That speeds things up, he said.

For Dominion, each shared solar system coming online moves it a small but fast-paced step closer to the Virginia Clean Economy Act's goal of 16,100 megawatts of solar facilities tied into its grid — enough to power more than 4 million homes — by 2035. Projects now online deliver 2,300 megawatts, projects under development will deliver another 2,300.

The small size that eases neighbors’ worries and the easier interconnection approval process means shared solar can come online faster than the bigger projects that will be responsible for the bulk of Dominion’s solar shift.

Dimension focuses on low-income customers

Dimension, which got its start developing shared solar in New York and Maine, focuses on serving low-income customers.

“They’re the ones who really need some help,” Bentrott said.

"People used to think you couldn't finance projects for low-income customers, but we've found you can," he added. The approach is like that used to finance housing for low-income families, wooing investors who are interested in putting up funds in exchange for various tax credit programs.

Dimension Renewable Energy expects to bring this Halifax County shared solar facility online next month.

All of Dimension’s customers qualify as low income, and it has been partnering with Community Housing Partners, a Christiansburg-based affordable housing nonprofit to offer shared solar subscriptions. Nearly 1,000 residents have signed up.

A key element of this year's bills won’t affect Dimension, with its focus on low-income customers, but should mean a better deal for others. This is a revision of language in a 2020 law about the minimum bills subscribers would pay. This language does not apply to low-income customers, but others’ bills had to cover costs of Dominion’s basic infrastructure.

This meant their bills were higher than those that shared solar subscribers were paying in other states, said Habeeb, the solar lobbyist. The new language says that passed-on cost should be reduced to reflect savings Dominion sees from tapping solar power.

Two other bills, meanwhile authorize shared solar programs in Appalachian Power’s Southwest Virginia territory.

“There’s big demand for these,” Habeeb said. “And they get us closer to a clean energy future fast.”

Gallery: President Joe Biden marks Earth Day at Prince William Forest Park

Biden

President Joe Biden speaks at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle on Monday, which was Earth Day. Biden announced $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving low- and middle-income communities and expanding his American Climate Corps green jobs training program. Among those with Biden are, from left, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Za’Nyia Kelly of the Michigan Healthy Climate Corps; and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

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President Joe Biden, right, greets members of the Marine Corps at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico on Monday.

Biden

In Triangle on Monday, President Joe Biden speaks at Prince William Forest Park, which the Civilian Conservation Corps built during President Franklin Roosevelt's administration.

Biden

President Joe Biden speaks at Prince William Forest Park on Monday, which was Earth Day. Biden is trying to overcome doubts among voters as to whether he has made sufficient strides against climate change.

Biden

President Joe Biden speaks at Prince William Forest Park on Earth Day Monday, April 22, 2024, in Triangle, Va. Biden announced $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving low- and middle-income communities and expanding his American Climate Corps green jobs training program.

Biden

President Joe Biden arrives to speak at Prince William Forest Park on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Triangle, Va. Biden is announcing $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving low- and middle-income communities and expanding his American Climate Corps green jobs training program.

Biden

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks before President Joe Biden at Prince William Forest Park on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Triangle, Va. Biden is announcing $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving low- and middle-income communities and expanding his American Climate Corps green jobs training program.

Biden

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., listens before President Joe Biden speaks at Prince William Forest Park on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Triangle, Va. Biden is announcing $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving low- and middle-income communities and expanding his American Climate Corps green jobs training program.

Biden

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks before President Joe Biden at Prince William Forest Park on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Triangle, Va. Biden is announcing $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving low- and middle-income communities and expanding his American Climate Corps green jobs training program.

Biden

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del., Monday, April 22, 2024.