 |
By Ivy MainRenewable Energy Chair |
Last year, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation giving utilities the green light to develop 5,000 megawatts of wind and solar energy. This marks a milestone for Virginia, offering the possibility for an amount of solar equal in output to Dominion Energy’s newest gas-fired power plant in Greensville.
Dominion projects the 1,588 megawatt Greensville plant will run at 80 percent of its full capacity. Solar farms, generating only during daylight hours, achieve capacity factors in the range of 25 percent while rooftop solar comes in a little less.
Amid the general celebration of this support for utility solar and wind, few legislators noticed that the bill did nothing to help residents and businesses that want to build renewable energy for their own use. Private investment drives most of the solar market in many other states, so leaving it out of the picture means squandering an opportunity.
Customers — and the solar companies who depend on small-scale solar — hope it’s their turn in the session that starts next month. They’d like to see the General Assembly give customer-built solar the same level of love in 2019 that it gave utility solar in 2018.