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Solar power in Virginia

Solar power in Virginia on rooftops is estimated to be capable of providing 32.4% of electricity used in Virginia using 28,500 MW of solar panels.[1] Installing solar panels provides a 6.8% return on investment in Virginia, and a 5 kW array would return a profit of $16,041 over its 25 year life.[2]

Solar panels at a vineyard in Louisa
U.S. solar potential

A feed-in tariff is available from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which pays $1,000 for signing up, plus the current rate for electricity plus $0.12/kWh for all generation. Systems are limited to from 0.5 kW to 50 kW. Payment is for 10 years. Payments are in the form of monthly credits to the consumers regular monthly bill and are paid monthly or annually at TVA's choice. Payments are for 10 years, and payment at retail can be extended for an additional 10 years.[3] A standard offer program is available for systems from 50 kW to 1 MW, which pays from 4 to 6 cents/kWh above retail for the first 10 years.[4] Net metering is available.

Virginia's largest solar array in 2014 was the 504 kW rooftop array located in Woodbridge.[5]

Amazon has partnered with Dominion Virginia Power to construct the largest solar facility in the Mid-Atlantic in Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Amazon Solar Farm US East is an 80 MW facility developed by a solar energy company and purchased by Dominion.[6]

The Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020 directs the construction of 16,100 MW of solar power and onshore wind by 2035, bringing the state's utility-delivered power to 100% renewable energy by 2045.[7]

The Spotsylvania Solar project is the largest in the state, with four phases completed in 2020 and 2021 totaling 617 MWdc capacity.[8]

Statistics

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Source: NREL[9]
Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[10][11][12][13]
Year Capacity Installed % Change
2007 0.4
2008 0.4
2009 0.7 0.3 75%
2010 2.6 1.9 271%
2011 4.5 1.8 73%
2012 10.5 5.2 116%
2013 12.6 2.2 21%
2014 11 6 120%
2015 21 10 91%
2016 217 196 933%
2017 613 396 126%
2018 758 145 23%
2019 898 140 18%
2020 2,310.5 1,412.5 157%
2021 3,760.9 1,450.4 %
2022 4,286 525.1 %
Utility-scale solar generation in Virginia (GWh)[14]
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2016 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 9
2017 313 15 19 23 25 28 24 29 26 25 26 36 37
2018 764 48 44 69 79 72 80 77 78 61 67 47 42
2019 950 54 51 83 94 105 93 102 90 88 70 62 58
2020 1,482 70 79 101 128 146 156 174 138 123 126 117 124
2021 2,200 137 130 248 278 313 317 371 406

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Technical Potential in the United States: A Detailed Assessment
  2. ^ Virginia Solar
  3. ^ TVA - Green Power Providers Archived April 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Solar Solutions Initiative Frequently Asked Questions
  5. ^ Virginia’s Largest Solar Array Now Plugged-in Atop IKEA Store
  6. ^ FORTUNE. "Amazon Signs Five New Solar Projects To Power Its Cloud". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
  7. ^ Vogelsong, Sarah (2020-03-06). "Virginia Clean Economy Act clears General Assembly, aided by beefed-up ratepayer protections". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  8. ^ "Spotsylvania Solar Energy Project". www.mortenson.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  9. ^ "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  10. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  11. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  12. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  13. ^ Virginia Solar
  14. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
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