In its continuing public relations attempt at an about-face,
Dominion Virginia Power submitted a PROPOSAL on Thursday seeking the State Corporation
Commission’s approval to purchase solar-generated power from small business and
residential ratepayers at 15 cents per kilowatt-hour for a demonstration period
of 5 years.[1]
The project would have a ceiling of 3,000 kilowatts, or 3
megawatts. 4 kilowatts is the average residential solar installation in
Dominion’s Virginia area of service.
Reportedly, the proposed rate was made to pay a premium to
offset the installation costs for ratepayers who generate electricity with
solar power.
The proposal comes less than a week after the utility
announced that it canceled a proposed 4 megawatt solar-energy project in
Halifax County which would have utilized advanced technology batteries to store
solar energy. However, the company manufacturing the batteries experienced
“extensive delays,” causing Dominion to entirely scrap the project.[2]
While the proposal announcement is welcome to advocates of
clean energy and clean energy jobs in Virginia, Dominion has cried wolf too
many times in the field of clean energy[3]
for me to lay aside my skepticism about where these efforts will ultimately end
up. Dominion rarely makes proposals that do not ultimately benefit its bottom
line in one way or another. So either this latest proposal is genuine in its
efforts to promote solar energy in Virginia, or it’s another public relations
move by Dominion to “green” its image, or a little bit of both.
I truly hope Dominion is sincere about increasing Virginia’s
percentage of clean energy, but for now it’s still just a proposal.
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