Virginia lags behind most other states in developing clean energy: wind, solar, and energy efficiency. We are missing out on huge opportunities for jobs and economic development, and for a cleaner environment. Besides, it’s embarrassing. So here’s the deal: I’ll explain the problems, and the rest of you go fix them.
Just kidding. Let’s work on this together.
–I.M.
P.S. Southeastern Energy News has a fun interview with me here: http://southeastenergynews.com/2017/02/23/qa-why-energy-policy-in-virginia-is-still-depressing/
Power for the People VA 
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT HUMOR! SUCH A RELIEF.
Ivy:
Thanks for your wonderful, beautifully written blog. Do you have information concerning Dominion Resource’s plan to build a natural gas liquifying and exporting facility at Cove Point? I understand that the Montgomery County Council voted to oppose the plan, but I don’t think that will stop Dominion.
Rose, the Sierra Club may be your best bet for information on the fight against Dominion’s efforts to repurpose its Cove Point facility for the export of LNG. I will send you contact information for the chair of the Maryland Sierra Club.
Ivy,
Thanks for this very informative blog.
Do you have information regarding the establishment of solar gardens in Virginia? Is it possible for private citizens to join together and finance the installation of a solar garden on private land and then sell the power to Dominion–something similar to the solar garden established in Harvard, MA?
Dave, I think you could do it, but you’d lose money. The utility would only have to pay you its avoided cost, essentially the wholesale cost of ordinary grid power, which runs about 4.5 cents/kWh. Dominion does have its “solar purchase program” to buy solar power at 15 cents for sale to its voluntary Green Poer Program customers, but I don’t think your solar garden co-op would qualify since the program is intended as an alternative to net metering; in any case the income would only be guaranteed for a few years. But I would love to see a solar garden like you propose and would sign up to buy the power myself!
HI Ivy-
Nice op-ed in the Virginia Pilot (Hampton Roads) today.I hope it was picked up throughout the state.
Best,
Steve Horton
Thanks, Steve. I will repost it here in a few days.
Ivy
Here is something that can help promote solar in VA, it is PACE financing. Communities need to work with local municipalities to get this implemented
Pace Financing
Property Assessed Clean Energy(PACE): “PACE is a means of financing energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy installations for buildings. Examples of upgrades range from adding more attic insulation to installing rooftop solar panels. In areas with PACE legislation in place municipal governments offer a specific bond to investors and then turn around and loan the money to consumers and businesses to put towards an energy retrofit. The loans are repaid over the assigned term (typically 15 or 20 years) via an annual assessment on their property tax bill. PACE bonds can be issued by municipal financing districts or finance companies and the proceeds can be used to retrofit both commercial and residential properties. One of the most notable characteristics of PACE programs is that the loan is attached to the property rather than an individual.”
“PACE programs help home and business owners pay for the upfront costs of green initiatives, such as solar panels, which the property owner then pays back by increasing property taxes by a set rate over about 20 years. This allows property owners to begin saving on energy costs while they are paying for their solar panels. This usually means that property owners have net gains even with increased property tax.”
Enabling Legislation: An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-958.3, relating to clean energy financing programs. [S 1212]
Approved March 30, 2009 http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+ful+CHAP0773
Local Economic Development
• Most funding is spent locally
• Creating economic development
• Impetus for making Shenandoah County a greener county and laying the seeds for future growth in this area
• Using the natural resources to create necessities of life, similar to farming.
• This county is well placed for a center of sustainable energy; its proximity to I-81, JMU, and Washington D.C., unused existing manufacturing space and a very skilled workforce with a good work ethic.
PACE programs have been set up throughout the country and guidelines and assistance is easily available.
Pace Financing (cont)
Involuntary Subordination: “Several problems have been raised regarding PACE. Foremost amongst the problems is the issue of involuntary subordination. Property taxes are superior to all other obligations, including mortgages. In case of default, taxes are paid before other creditors. Since the PACE loan is made after a mortgage is taken out, this in effect acts as an involuntary subordination of the lender’s security. While this point is widely disputed, for this reason Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) have issued guidance that stopped residential PACE finance programs in most locations. Commercial PACE is, however, unaffected. Changes to make PACE loans secondary to mortgage loans have made residential PACE financing available in thirteen states.” (This is has been resolved, see below)
Rulemaking Process: “As required by a preliminary injunction issued by the Northern District Court of California, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has sent to the Federal Register for publication and public comment a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) concerning certain state and local energy retrofit financing arrangements also known as Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has stayed any obligation required by the preliminary injunction for FHFA to publish a final rule. http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/24017/PACE61512.pdf
The rulemaking process has been completed and mortgages will be a senior lien, while PACE will become a junior lien. As concerns a short sale, property assessments cannot be dismissed in a short sale.
Revolving loan programs administered by state energy offices with Federal funds could employ mechanisms like PACE; funds from the 2009 Recovery Act served such a purpose. Federal credit support could reduce interest rates for municipal bonds by reducing risk to lenders, making the program more cost-effective for property owners. http://www.ase.org/resources/property-assessed-clean-energy-financing-pace.
Respectfully Submitted Ed Kelly M. S. Principal Shenandoah Energy Services LLC
from the Free Nelson facebook post 9-16-2015 at 1:38AM
This photo is of the Dutch Creek area in our beloved Nelson County. If you read the August report of Dominion to FERC, you saw Dominion representatives met with a group of Nelsonians in the Dutch Creek area, where one possible route for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline could be situated.
Free Nelson was interested to learn what information that meeting yielded. Board of Supervisor member, Connie Brennan, told us the following: “Dominion would chop off the top of the ridge, to create a level 125-foot area; dig the trench and place the pipeline and bury it; then ‘rebuild’ the ridge back to its original configuration. They do not have to replant the 25 feet on either side of the permanently-cleared easement unless the property owner negotiates this, but will let it go back to nature ‘naturally’.”
We hope you’re getting the picture. If you extend this “vision” all through our beautiful county, Dominion proposes to remove mountaintops, trench and bury the pipeline and then “rebuild” the mountaintops. One good gullywasher and those rebuilt mountaintops would become part of the debris flow.
Likely Dominion would claim it will mitigate damages.
“Rebuilt” mountaintops and “silencers” on compressor stations? Pipe dreams.
Two of us are in the fracking fields of West Virginia right now, witnessing the horror wrought by corporate greed. The tragedy here overwhelms. There is no “mitigation” for the people of West Virginia. Their loss is permanent. Their water is ruined. The smell of gas hangs heavy in the air everywhere we go. There is no place to go in this area of West Virginia to escape the presence of the pipelines. Much of their reality could be our own.
How does one go about mitigating the rape of the land? How might Dominion mitigate the loss of all we hold sacred? What dollar amount would make you feel better about the proposed permanent desecration of our land and way of life? #NoPipelineAnywhere #Renewables #NelsonStrong
~Marion Kanour, Free Nelson
Marion
Have you been in touch with the people in Augusta county who are trying to stop the pipeline
altogether
Wonderful blog, a huge relief to discover that there actually are intelligent, thoughtful people living in the USA. All we see in the news from your country is the spectacle of Donald Trump and the other Republican ‘Hopefuls’ making fools of themselves in what looks like Reality TV shows, plus endless comments from right-wing screwballs lambasting Obama for being ‘Liberal’ and ‘Anti American’.
Your thoughtful, brave stance on Fracking needs a wider audience. I sincerely hope you succeed in your aims, for the sake of us all.
Best Wishes from the UK.
Pete T.
Peter
Good news from the UK with the election of Jeremy Corbin to the leadership of the labor party, he could win the PM
What state legislative action would do the most to promote solar in Virginia? I am planning to speak with VA legislators on Saturday and would like to know what legislation to ask them to support.
Laurie, thanks for the question. I am aware of several pro-solar bills in the works for the General Assembly session that starts next week, though some have not been filed yet. I will write a round-up of them as well as other energy-related bills once they are all filed. Unfortunately many of the proposals that would do the most for solar have no chance of passage. One bill I’m more optimistic about (and not just because I was on the drafting team) would remove many of the barriers I identified in my “Getting the policy right” post, especially size caps and the challenges to third-party ownership that currently hold back the market. The bill won’t do as much for solar as an RPS or state tax credits would, but the absence of subsidies and mandates gives it a better shot in the conservative committees that hear energy bills.
Thanks, Ivy! We are hoping to put solar panels on our house this year, so I am just now getting interested in our state laws. I look forward to more of your analysis and will read you post carefully.
Renewable Portfolio Standards need to be made mandatory
Ivy & Laurie, While state tax credits sound good, they are a double edge sword for installers like us. Here is my thinking on this: there is a reason why company like Solar City (solar leasing companies) are not in VA, it is because of the lack of state tax credits. if a homeowner is faced with the choice of tens of thousands of dollars of debt or getting a solar system install for nothing and paying for the usage, it is pretty obvious what the choice would be. This can seriously hurt installers like us and others. It is hard enough to close a project as it is and we get about 1 in 4, given this very attractive alternative for homeowners, it would be near impossible
Ed, I always appreciate the input of those of you on the front lines. Thank you.
Ivy, please comment on this article. Is it a hatchet job against clean energy or not? Figured you would know.
http://www.theenergyfix.com/2016/02/11/new-data-debunks-clean-energy-claims-by-apple-amazon-google/#sthash.kaTnnZw2.gNx63rOK.dpbs
Joni, I don’t have a lot of knowledge about what large companies are buying (I’d like to know more), but the rap on Amazon in the past has been the lack of transparency in its clean energy claims. Google has been better. In the past a lot of companies bought cheap, unbundled RECs to enable their green claims without acheiveing much of actual value. Now they are making investments of their own in wind and solar, which is what we want to see and helps make the case they are serious. BTW, the writer of the article, Jim Pierobon, lives in Virginia and is friendly to the cause, so don’t hesitate to ping him with questions.
Thanks so much–someone here had the impression it was a hatchet job by someone unfriendly to the cause but it seemed OK to me.
Ivy, I was hoping I could tap your brain regarding what types of PPA / lease scenarios are currently legal (or passable) in the commonwealth to assist non-profits in going solar.
Joe, if you are in Dominion territory, a non-profit can use a 3d party power purchase agreement. In APCo territory, it’s trickier, because while Virginia law appears to allow PPAs, APCo contends they are not allowed. It is hard to get financing with that kind of uncertainty. Finally, if your utility is a coop or muni, you may be able to get their cooperation. For more information, see my 2015 policy summary (gee, I guess I’d better update that). And if you are not already part of the VA-SUN network, you will want to join so you can connect with developers and get all your questions answered.
Dominion has a pilot program for PPA’s of 50 MW, when I last looked at it less than 1 MW had be used. For one project we were looking at an installment sale with a monthly payment to the investor.
A passive investor id entitled to the 30% tax credit, which a N P can’t use
Joe
here is a new development on PPAs
September 2, 2016 State Corporation Commission ruling could open the door for Virginia’s solar market
A Virginia State Corporation Commission hearing examiner has turned aside a utility’s claims that customers in its area were forbidden from entering into contracts with third parties to provide solar energy for their homes.
The ruling rejected Appalachian Power Company’s contention that financing structures known as “power purchase agreements” – or PPAs – were illegal in Virginia. A PPA is an agreement where, typically, a homeowner or other consumer contracts with a company to install solar panels through a payment or financing plan that reduces or eliminates the up-front costs.
“This decision is an important win for solar rights in Virginia, which has continued to lag behind neighboring states on solar because of outdated policies and utility opposition like we saw from Appalachian Power in this case,” said Will Cleveland, staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The ruling confirms that Virginians have the right to use common sense financial tools to choose solar power without utilities acting as the middle men.”
PPAs have been a contentious issue for state utilities as they fight to keep customers from generating their own power. But in 2013, the Virginia legislature set up provisions for a pilot program in Dominion Virginia Power’s service area that allowed PPAs. Prior to that, Dominion also rejected the notion of PPAs.
Appalachian Power tried to argue that PPAs were narrowly allowed only under approved utility pilot programs like Dominion’s.
SELC represented the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Appalachian Voices to challenge the utility’s restrictive stance. Solar industry organizations, consumer groups, and members of the public also weighed in to support solar financing opportunities and against the utility’s restrictive arguments. The hearing examiner agreed Appalachian Power’s interpretation was incorrect.
If the full commission upholds the ruling this fall, it will further open Virginia markets to new solar businesses and jobs, and it will make solar power more accessible for state residents.
Virginia has lagged behind regional states in the embrace of solar power. The Old Dominion ranks 32 among states for installed solar projects. North Carolina ranks third. North Carolina has nearly three times as many solar jobs as Virginia.
As an example of the promise of PPAs, the pilot program from Dominion Power recently allowed six schools in the Albemarle County School District to install solar panels on their roofs, with students leading the charge.
Read the decision here.
This might be worth a post, mentions the North Anna reactor would raise rates 26% :
http://southeastenergynews.com/2017/01/30/virginia-utility-under-pressure-from-company-seeking-to-offer-100-renewable-electricity/
Hi Rex, thanks for bringing that up. I did cover the absurdly high costs of NA3 a year or so ago; see https://powerforthepeopleva.com/2015/10/06/north-anna-3-would-raise-rates-for-dominion-virginia-power-customers-by-25/
Any updates on REC’s since your 2012 article?
Hi Gill. Virginia still doesn’t have a REC market, nor do we seem likely to develop one. See https://powerforthepeopleva.com/2016/09/14/your-2016-guide-to-virginia-wind-and-solar-policy/. Let me know if that doesn’t answer your question.
Thanks for your analysis of Dominion Energy’s “Green” tariff. I appreciated learning I’m better off using the money directly on solar panels. — Could you shed light on Arcadia Power and their use of Green-e Energy certified renewable energy certificates. arcadiapower.com
Hi Jesse. I discussed the Arcadia offering a while ago at https://powerforthepeopleva.com/2015/12/03/is-a-green-power-program-worth-your-money/ Since then Arcadia has started offering RECs for free, up to 50% of your usage. It is hard to argue with free. Otherwise, I think people are better off putting the money towards creating a new project, preferably local. Next year Virginians are likely to have a real option to buy green power from Virginia utilities, so the other option is to save your money now and spend it then.
Thank you. Sorry to have missed your 2015 article.
I’m wondering what you make of this: https://www.oilandgasinvestor.com/steven-schlotterbeck-resigns-eqts-ceo-president-1690021
The article doesn’t provide enough information even to guess whether this is a signal about the health of the gas industry, or is simply personal to him.
Does anyone know if NOVEC is planning on implementing Time of Use billing? We just installed solar panels in 2019 and decided not to get Powerwalls because of the 1 for 1 exchange rate with net metering. I just heard that Dominion is planning on rolling out Time of Use billing in Charlottesville. We are a little nervous about TOU becoming more widespread and are wondering if we should get some Powerwalls?
I haven’t heard anything, Eric. Try contacting NOVEC directly.
I was wondering what your opinion is, Ivy, of the green energy illusion presented (in part) by Ozzie Zehner in the film “Planet of The Humans” and in his prior book “Green Illusions”.
The fact that the recent film production release is currently being censored tells me his viewpoint definitely represents a challenge to the prevailing narrative on “green” energy initiatives. That tells me there is some substance to questions being asked in the film. That tells me, also, that I should really question the popular idea that we are, indeed, on the road to fossil free energy systems by 2050. Actually, Ozzie’s published inquiries and studies give me reason to doubt it. I see no tangible progress on this front; yet lots of alchemy bandied about. While there may be some sensational positions presented in Ozzie’s film production, at least it involves asking some basic questions about the prevailing narrative, largely pursued with vigor since the Obama administration. For example: Why are biomass plants augmented with significant natural gas supplies? Why are we burning used tires with wood without factoring in the additional cost of this type of pollution? Why are fossil fuel burning electrical plants becoming ever bigger (and not smaller) if they are supposedly being replaced by green energy sources? And the most basic, What really constitutes “green” energy? How is green energy being uniformly qualified and/or quantified? All great questions that I have yet to see answers to…and certainly have yet to see being rationally discussed on any other forum.
In fact, the illusion of bio mass for “green” electrical energy production (as in the highly touted plant repurposed plant bought by NOVEC from Georgia Pacific in South Boston Va. and supplying energy to NOVEC customers) has always seemed irrational to me. Add in the fact that Europe (Germany for one) is importing wood from VA to burn for biomass in order to satisfy “green” energy initiatives there, and this trend really seems out of control. Who is factoring in the fossil fuel costs and pollution costs to ship the wood to Europe? Nobody, I bet. That’s because the environmental cost factor is never part of the Capitalism equation when it comes to calculating profits. It seems not enough to satisfy our thirst for fossil fuel mined from below grade, but now we have to cut it down, ship it halfway around the world, and burn it above grade even before it ever has a chance to possibly become fossilized. All to seemingly satisfy an illusion. Is there nothing off limits as we continue to rape and pillage all the natural efficiency our plant has evolved from? Do we really believe all of planet Earth’s natural resources have evolved, have been grown, and have been stored for mankind’s singular and glutinous pleasure? Are we truly, as a species, that egocentric? Seems so.
With regard to the earlier post of 1:1 exchange rate for net metering, it should be noted that Ozzie Zehner is on record pointing out as early as 2013 that:
“A solar power system must do more than provide a 1:1 energy payback if it is to provide an alternative to fossil fuels. Economists indicate we need about a 3:1 payback to cover basic needs, and higher still if we wish to build a second round of niceties, such as electric cars and additional solar cells. Sunlight is renewable; solar cells are not. Along with electric cars, they will remain a product of fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.”
So why are we discussing 1:1 ratio’s which aren’t even relevant to the “green” energy equation?
I have not seen the movie, so can’t comment on it or on Mr. Zehner. I have addressed biomass in my writing (see especially https://powerforthepeopleva.com/2019/12/04/whats-not-to-like-about-biomass-deforestation-pollution-and-overpriced-power/) and agree with you completely on that.
The movie is free to watch. You can see it here: https://planetofthehumans.com. I have no affiliation with the movie production or distribution whatsoever. However, I feel we all owe it to ourselves to view and and give it some critical analysis.
Thank you so much, Sonny Wiehe. I also would like to have Ivy’s reaction to the movie. I thought I was doing a good thing when I installed a photovoltaic system at my house some years ago, and it has been working reliably, but I did not consider all of the environmental and human costs that went into producing and transporting those panels.
Rose, nothing is completely clean, but the lifetime benefits of solar outweigh the embedded energy
I think Mr. Kelly’s reply is indicative of most capitalists that look at energy in a self serving and myopic manner. Why? Because “benefits” and “embedded” are relative. Embedded costs are not the only part of the equation when we have a moral responsibility to share the planets resources with other species. Not only are embedded costs part of the subjective equation, but the after life degradation costs and the negative impacts of pollution (both physiological and aesthetic) are never factored into the production of energy conversion products. Please show me those calculations, Sir.
I think Rose Wells is commendable to consider the entire equation when choosing energy conversion products like her photovoltaic system. I, too, like to think I am doing the right thing by choosing “green” energy conversion products, but Planet of the Humans enlightens me to the very real possibility that we have been presented with nothing more than a shell game as we engage in these “green” energy alternatives.
To the contrary of Mr. Kelly’s opinion (presented as fact) the suns energy radiated upon Earth is clean. The problem is that the clean energy it gives is intermittent. We humans, have not yet come to terms that we have not perfected a good way to store that clean energy. For millions of years, the Earth has stored the conversion of that solar energy very effectively in the form of a fossilized state far below the Earth’s surface where it, largely, has not polluted the surface. Sure there are volcanic eruptions and craters that release poisonous gases at certain times and certain areas, but this, I believe, it far more limited to amount that humans release pollutants and CO2 by mining and combusting these stored fossil fuels presently on a daily basis.
Since we have not adequately perfected a responsible energy storage system, my suggestion is that we focus on using fossil fuels more efficiently and sparingly. We will never legislate a green solution with oversight over power companies that convert these sources of energy into electricity. Their capitalistic mantras will always involve corruption and greed. I look at the current situation with the Green movement’s “War on Fossil Fuels” as similar to our never ending “War on Drugs”.
The simple answer is that we could end or “War on Drugs” today with one simple constraint–don’t use them. Of course we can say the exact same thing for fossil fuels–but we can constrain ourselves to use less of them. How?
1. Don’t build poorly insulted housing in extreme (or even moderately extreme) climates.
2. Don’t fly if not absolutely necessary.
3. Don’t heat your 5k sq. ft mansion to 80 degrees when its 0 degrees outside just so you can run around in your house in little more than your underwear..and still be comfortable.
4. Conversely, don’t cool your house to 60 degrees in the summer when its 85 degrees at night so that you can sleep under a bunch of fluffy blankets just to feel “cozy”.
5. Etc.–I could go on and on… and might sound like ridiculous examples. But I do service work in peoples homes and you’d be surprised how many people don’t give the examples above a second thought.
Looking at more detail of my second example: Flying is distinctly not human and an engineering marvel. In my opinion, it should be considered a privilege (not a right) that comes with far more social consequences than the price of a ticket. And why shouldn’t it be? The carbon footprint for the right to fly is never really calculated into the capitalist equation. It is HUGE. And you should note that Covid19 has largely restricted our flight travel as of late…and the world has not ended. In fact, environmentally, it has improved. Sure, our GDP has suffered due to covid19 and flight restrictions but, in my opinion, this should cause one to reflect on what our GDP calculations have evolved to…and why a Federal balanced budget amendment has not been adopted (at least in the U.S.) to realistically constrain the ponzi scheme of an out of control fiat currency system that artificially subsidizes and props it up our capitalism. A little recognized fact is that our national debt has ballooned by almost $3T (from roughly $23.4T to $26.3T) since Covid19 state of energy was announced in March of this year! Compare that with the fact that our total cumulative national debt was only $1T when Ronald Reagan took office in 1980. Astonishing! You may think I wander away from topic, but many aspects of “civility” among humans is inextricably linked…and why we shouldn’t make simple and ambiguous statements like the “benefits of solar outweigh the embedded energy” as if it were gospel or fact.
Watch the movie folks… and please discuss the questions raised. Nobody else is necessarily (and I mean necessarily) asking them.
Mr wiehle argument while very elaborate and articulate is still the same old arguments against renewable and the MORE efficient use of fossil fuels
I have watched the movie and this michael Moore like presentation. I like how he features this one character who shows how clever he is and this abandoned renewable sites this is not a failure of technology but failure of management
I know when I he
Are an apologist for fossil fuel interest disguised as an enviromentalist
Ivy: What do you think about this partnership between Dominion Energy and the Harrisonburg Electric Commission? It sounds good, but . . .: https://news.dominionenergy.com/2020-11-11-Dominion-Energy-Harrisonburg-Electric-Commission-Partner-on-Solar-Energy.