Staunton, VA, Aug. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In December of 2022, Dominion issued “new rules” for interconnection. Those rules were cumbersome, extremely costly, and created an immediate and sharp downturn in the growth of solar installation across the state of Virginia. The Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance filed a petition for injunction with the SCC, stating that the rules were illegal, passed without the SCC approval and outside of the operating tariff of Dominion.\
On August 30th, the SCC agreed, issuing a Final Order granting immediate injunctive relief to the industry, and removing all the stated parameters at least until the SCC workgroups can complete their findings. “This feels like a very David and Goliath moment,” stated Ruth Amundsen, Treasurer for the Alliance, and owner of multiple solar businesses. “Here we are, this small group of solar business owners and customers, basically being halted by Dominion, but we organized, pushed back and won.”
Alden Cleanthes, Legislative Director for the Alliance, and Co-Founder of Norfolk Solar, was a bit more apprehensive. “While this feels like a big win, and it is- it’s just the first step. We fully anticipate that similar efforts to hurt solar growth will inevitably be back through legislative initiatives in the General Assembly. This ruling, and this fight will be landmark/flagship findings for the growth of solar even beyond Virginia. We still really have our work cut out for us.”
“Our work in developing solar projects is hard enough as it is, without constantly fighting rearguard actions against the utilities using ratepayer money to fight distributed solar. We hope to develop a working relationship with Dominion CEO Bob Blue and the company, rather than an adversarial one. We hope Dominion will come back to the table and work with us in developing win-win solutions, rather than engaging in lose-lose fights,” stated Anthony Smith, President and Founder of Secure Futures, and Chair/Co-founder of the Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance.
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The Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance was formed in 2013 to protect the right of all Virginians to access affordable solar power without high costs due to unnecessary restrictions. Our members include solar power developers, environmental and consumer rights advocates, and customers of rooftop solar power including schools, hospitals, churches, and local governments. Find the VA-DSA online at https://vasolaralliance.org/.
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