It’s time to lift restrictions on competition in Virginia and end the practice of imposing caps on solar power:
Fairfax County is moving to buy energy from contractors who would install solar panels on more than 100 county buildings, part of a growing environmental effort that aims to remove protections against competition given to the powerful Dominion Energy company.
Over the next 25 years, Virginia’s largest jurisdiction will allow three contractors to outfit at least 113 schools, community centers and park buildings with solar energy panels, which the county will then pay for in lieu of using standard electricity at those sites.
The conversion, generating an estimated 45 megawatts of solar energy capacity, will save Fairfax $60 million in utility costs, county officials say.
That goal runs counter to Dominion-friendly state restrictions that limit how much solar energy can be created through such “power purchase agreements.” The restrictions, part of a 2013 pilot program, mandate that the amount of energy generated through those agreements be kept below 50 megawatts throughout Dominion’s service area, which encompasses Northern Virginia and large portions of the central and southeastern regions of the state.
With more local governments and Virginia school districts pursuing solar agreements, the state cap is almost reached, renewable energy advocates say. They predict the Fairfax effort will spur attempts by the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly to eliminate the restrictions.
Read the full story at WashingtonPost.com.