Michelle Rotellini, Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, promotes solar project

From an Article by Jessica Farrish, Beckley Register Herald, September 1, 2020

Raleigh County Commission, on a 2-1 vote, welcomed the county’s first solar farm, a decision that was backed by Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce.

Raleigh Commission President David Tolliver and Commissioner Ron Hedrick voted in favor of a resolution to permit Raleigh Solar, a company formed in West Virginia in 2018 by Dakota Renewable Energy of Denver, to pay the county based on the amount of electricity the farm generated, with Commissioner Linda Epling voting against it.

The original agreement had offered only $1.4 million to the county, but Tolliver, Raleigh Sheriff Scott Van Meter and Raleigh Assessor Linda Sumner had rejected that offer. The approved version on Tuesday was an increase of $600,000, with Van Meter saying he would have liked to have seen the county receive more in the agreement.

Raleigh Solar is responsible, under the agreement, for treating the soil and for putting up a bond to disassemble all the panels, once the 15 years are past.

During the Tuesday meeting, Tolliver reported that there had been a change to the amount of money that the county would receive over a 20-year period. The county is now set to receive $2 million under the plan.

The Raleigh Commission agreed to accept the Dakota offer of just over $2 million for 20 years, or about $600,000 more than the original offer, said Tolliver.

Raleigh Solar signed an agreement to purchase about 600 acres on Grandview Road where it plans to place 1,000 solar panels, if favorable tax incentives are granted, according to Tolliver. A portion of the land is leased.

The agreement that Commission approved on Tuesday has no bearing on the location of the farm. The Raleigh Board of Zoning and Appeals must approve the location, Tolliver said.

Under county code, the agreement had to be approved by the Raleigh Assessor and Raleigh Sheriff, who is the treasurer of the county. Raleigh Assessor Sumner and Sheriff Van Meter both approved the resolution during the Tuesday meeting.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people over this, and I struggled a little, but I’m going to vote yes,” said Van Meter. “Because $2 million extra dollars for 20 years, I can’t leave on the table. “I’d like to have got more for the county, for sure, but I’ll vote yes.”

Raleigh Solar must now present the resolution to the Raleigh Board of Education for approval. Raleigh County Schools receives 78 percent of the funds. Raleigh Schools Superintendent David Price does not vote on the agreement, as was previously reported.

Commissioner Epling’s husband, Beckley businessman Doug Epling, had opposed the plan to allow a solar energy farm to come into the county without paying taxes. Doug Epling, who has interests in coal, had said that while he is in favor of diversifying energy resources in the county and is not “against” solar energy, he disagreed with the tax breaks that are being extended to solar energy, which could potentially cut local coal jobs.

Historically, West Virginia is a coal mining state. State lawmakers recently passed legislation that makes the state friendlier to solar farms but has not yet made explicit laws to allow purchase power agreements (PPA) in the state. A PPA would allow a solar energy company to erect panels on private property, at little or no cost to the property owner. Power generated would be available to the property owner, at a rate that would reduce the owner’s monthly power bill, and any additional generated power would be sold by the company.

Days prior to the Commission vote, Raleigh Chamber had issued a statement in support of diversification of the economy and the solar farm, with Chamber CEO Michelle Rotellini and Beaver Coal Co. General Manager Joe Bevel both voicing support of solar farm plans.

Rotellini pointed out that a diverse economy is a factor that helps attract Fortune 500 companies to a region.

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See also: Raleigh Chamber supports solar farm, Beckley Register Herald, August 29, 2020

“In conclusion, the BRCCC supports an ‘all of the above’ approach to energy options to ensure the future economic growth of Beckley-Raleigh County and all of Southern West Virginia.”

According to information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal-fired power plants accounted for 92 percent of West Virginia’s electricity net generation in 2018. Renewable energy resources — primarily hydroelectric power and wind energy — contributed 5.3 percent and natural gas provided 2.1 percent.

The West Virginia Legislature in March passed a solar energy bill, a step toward diversifying the state’s energy portfolio. The law created a program that encourages the development of solar energy in the state.

According to statements by attorney Roger Hunter, who represented Raleigh Solar during an Aug. 18 public meeting, the estimated total construction cost for the solar farm is more than $90 million.

More and more solar projects are being planned

Article from the National Law Review, January 17, 2020

As many states see a push for renewable energy opportunities for their customers located in (or scouting new locations in) their borders, West Virginia legislators are poised to decide whether the state will facilitate such development. On January 8, 2020, two House bills were introduced that could open the door to more renewable choices.

House Bill (“HB”) 2911 [SB 611] proposes to allow electric customers to invest in and install renewable and alternative energy sources on their property and ultimately enter into power purchase agreements. Currently, such arrangements are unavailable to individuals and third parties because of the risk of being classified as a “public utility” under West Virginia law. HB 2911 or SB 611 would amend the existing West Virginia Public Utility Commission (“WVPUC”) statute in order to exempt renewable developments on premises of a retail customer that are leased to the customer or that are subject to a power purchase agreement from the definition of “public utility” (removing the WVPUC’s jurisdiction).

HB 3072 seeks to, by way of an entirely new article in the WVPUC statute, allow third parties to enter into power purchase agreements but focuses on solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. HB 3072 details the benefits of allowing power purchase agreements for solar development in West Virginia but defers the specifics of implementation to the WVPUC for rulemaking.

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Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) help make Solar possible for all

From Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair, WV Chapter of Sierra Club, February 3, 2020

As the cost of renewable energy resources has plummeted in recent years, more West Virginia communities, families, businesses, and tax-exempt institutions – like schools, churches, nonprofit organizations, and local governments – want to take advantage of these affordable energy options. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are a widely available method to finance distributed energy generation projects. With a PPA, you can purchase solar electricity from a third party provider, instead of dealing with fossil fuel energy from the local utility.

BENEFITS FOR THE TAX-EXEMPT — How exactly do Power Purchase Agreements benefit tax-exempt schools, nonprofits, and municipalities? A PPA developer can take advantage of the federal energy investment tax credit and pass along those savings to tax-exempt customers in the form of lowered energy costs.

WHAT YOU CAN DO — Unfortunately, West Virginia law stops us from entering into PPAs. Bills to make PPAs available in the Mountain State are being considered in the 2020 West Virginia Legislature. The West Virginia Sierra Club urges you to support SB 611, permitting third-party ownership of renewable and alternative energy generating facilities.

Information modified from:
https://www.energyfreedomwv.org/

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Action Alert — WEST VIRGINIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL — Action Alert

Power Purchase Agreements on Agenda this Wednesday!

We have been working hard to strengthen solar development in West Virginia and are excited to announce that our Senate Bill legalizing on-site Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) is on the Senate Economic Development agenda this Wednesday afternoon!

SB 611 is a common and powerful way to finance energy projects, like solar arrays!

The bill was introduced and single referenced to the Senate Economic Development Committee. Once passed, it will go straight to the Senate floor. We need your help to convince the committee members to vote YES on the bill …….

See also: https://wvecouncil.org/power-purchase-agreements-on-agenda-this-wednesday/

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As Virginia’s schools look to solar, existing VA state law shuts down further development

From an Article by Sarah Vogelsong, Virginia Mercury, January 27, 2020

Since 2013, Virginia has run a pilot program allowing customers to use a financing mechanism known as the power purchase agreement, or PPA, with non-utility solar developers. Under a PPA, a developer installs solar panels on customers’ property and then sells the electricity back to them, usually for less than the utility would.

“PPAs are in a lot of ways a great equalizer,” said Rob Corradi, public affairs adviser for Sun Tribe Solar, one of Virginia’s most active developers in the PPA market and the company behind Middlesex’s solar. They “allow school systems and governments that don’t have access to a lot of capital to be able to access solar at a low cost.”

In Virginia, however, the pilot program came with a major string attached: a 50-megawatt cap on projects in the territory of Dominion Energy, the state’s largest electric utility. Once the State Corporation Commission (SCC) was notified the program had reached that scale, the process would grind to a halt. Unless they were already in the pipeline, no more projects could be developed.

On Jan. 7, a 65-kilowatt project at Chesapeake’s Church of St. Therese finally tripped the wire, bringing the total amount of power committed under the pilot to within 2 kilowatts of the cap — so close, said SCC spokesman Ken Schrad, that “no further notices of intent will be accepted by staff because no particular project would be that small.”

The reaching of the cap was in many ways not a surprise. Bills proposing that the cap be raised had been filed during the 2019 General Assembly. A November report to the governor and the legislature from the SCC had flagged the possibility that the cap would soon be reached and noted that officials “may wish to consider increasing the program limit.” Letters from solar developers warned that already market uncertainty was spreading.

“There’s this huge unmet contracted demand that won’t be built or can’t be built until the cap is raised,” Tony Smith, CEO of solar developer Secure Futures, told the Mercury. “That has ripple effects on the marketplace. Already we’re hearing from public school districts that have requests for proposals (RFP’s) or want to have projects that they’re holding off.”

NOTE: In California, Solar Star 1 and Solar Star 2 are already installed. The first one has a capacity of 314MW and the second one has 265MW. These are the largest in the USA. The Longview solar farm on the Mason Dixon Line (WV & PA) would be 70MW.

WV is ready for PPAs ..... now!

Appeal from WVEC, Charleston, WV, February 18, 2019

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) will expand access to affordable energy for West Virginia communities, businesses, tax-exempt entities, and low-income families.

Our lawmakers have a no-cost way to empower more West Virginians to benefit from affordable distributed energy. Current law forbids us from entering into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to buy energy from renewable or alternative energy resources.

Legalizing these agreements will help West Virginia communities, families, businesses, and nonprofits:

>> Install on-site energy generation facilities with little to no upfront cost
>> Lower electric bills from day one
>> Lock in affordable long-term electricity rates
>> Avoid utility rate increases
>> Stabilize monthly budget expenditures

In addition, PPAs will expand economic development, create good local jobs, and attract employers to locate and invest in West Virginia. Urge your legislators to support legalizing PPAs.

>>> Act Now: Urge Senate President Mitch Carmichael to support the PPA bill

Please call Senate President Mitch Carmichael at (304) 357-7801 and urge him to support the pro-jobs and pro-business Senate Bill 409 that legalizes Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for on-site renewable and alternative energy generation facilities in West Virginia. The bill is in the Energy, Industry and Mining committee. This widely used financing mechanism helps businesses, local governments, families, and tax-exempt institutions like schools and churches take control of their energy costs. PPAs will expand economic development, create good local jobs, and attract employers to locate and invest throughout West Virginia – all without raising rates or hiking taxes.

Can’t make a call? You can submit the form on this page to contact Carmichael! Better yet, add a personal message to let him know how PPAs will benefit your family, business, or local community.

>>> West Virginia Environmental Council
P.O. Box 1007, Charleston, WV 25324

info@wvecouncil.org (304) 414-0143

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AEP Signs Agreement To Purchase Wind Assets From Sempra, Columbus, Ohio, February 12, 2019

American Electric Power (Columbus, OH) signs agreement to acquire Sempra Renewables business. Acquisition advances part of planned $2.2 billion investment by 2023 in contracted renewables.
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