Delegate Terry Kilgore has introduced a bill to the house that would encourage construction of renewable energy facilities in Virginia, like the solar installation we have here at Washington & Lee. Secure Futures, the company that installed the W&L solar panels, received a cease and desist this summer from Dominion claiming that Dominion had exclusive rights to sell power to W&L based on Virginia regulations.
There is a bit of debate over the meaning of Virginia regulations allowing sales of renewable energy. I believe this is the relevant statute:
individual retail customers of electric energy within the Commonwealth . . . shall be permitted:a. To purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from any supplier of electric energy licensed to sell retail electric energy within the Commonwealth. Va. Code Ann. § 56-577 (West).
The question is whether “100 percent” means that the power must be entirely generated from renewable sources, or whether all of W&L’s power needs must be supplied by renewable energy. I read it as the former, but I haven’t done much research on the issue; Dominion claims that it is the latter, and that it would be a violation of the regulations for Secure Futures to sell W&L power. Instead, Secure Futures has had to lease the facilities to W&L, so the University is generating its own power.
This creates problems for companies like Secure Futures, who depend on providing energy to receive federal tax benefits. House Bill 129 would clear up the confusion by explicitly allowing companies like Secure Futures to sell energy generated by 100 percent renewable resources, regardless of whether the renewable energy alone was enough to fully fulfill the customer’s needs.
Links
2012 H.B. 129
VA PPA deemed illegal (Fierce Energy)
Staunton solar firm faced utility challenge (newsleader)
Ben Koopferstock
Chris McDonald
Jeff Wieand
Sam Petsonk
Anthony Raucci
Kat Statman
