Charleston Gazette-Mail Outlook: Solar developers see bright future

An article in the Charleston Gazette-Mail’s special Outlook section on Engineering & Energy (Feb. 17, 2019) featured an in-depth look at solar power and its growth in West Virginia. A section of the article focused on our campaign to support bills to make Power Purchase Agreements legal in West Virginia.

From the report:

Autumn Long of Solar United Neighbors of West Virginia said this is the first time a PPA bill has been introduced in the Legislature. “Everyone we’ve talked to, once they understand what this bill would do, is basically supportive of it. It appeals to both sides of the aisle, and gives the legislators an opportunity to come together and support something really positive.”

Read the full report here.

Wear your support of energy freedom!

Support solar energy and want the world to know? Solar United Neighbors of West Virginia, a founding member of West Virginians for Energy Freedom, is selling these super-cool T-shirts.

Get one and let the sun shine!

Morgantown City Council passes resolution supporting PPAs

The City of Morgantown, home to West Virginia University and one of the state’s 10 largest cities, unanimously passed a resolution urging the state legislature to legalize on-site Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

The Morgantown City Manager will send the resolution of support to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, and the city’s local legislators. Senate Bill 409 and House Bill 2911 would enable on-site PPAs.

PPAs are a widely available method to finance distributed energy generation projects such as rooftop solar panels or landfill biogas. These third-party agreements are legal in at least 26 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. States including Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Georgia offer PPAs, but they are NOT available in West Virginia. 

The resolution cites the advantages PPAs would give the city and state by:

• Helping residents, nonprofits, and municipalities have more control over their energy bills with zero upfront costs;

• Creating much-needed local jobs; and

• Attracting employers – especially those with a renewable energy mandate – to locate and invest in West Virginia.

Thanks to the Morgantown City Council for again leading the way in supporting energy policies that will help West Virginia move forward.

Interested in drafting a resolution for your city/town council or county commission to consider? Email us for details.

Want to join our #PPAs4WV campaign? Click here to send an email to your representatives in the WV Senate and House of Representatives.

Letter to the Editor: Urge WV Legislature to support measures on environment (Gazette Opinion)

"Twenty-six states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Maryland, have passed legislation to make power purchase agreements legal, thus enabling third-party financing/development of distributed energy systems using solar panels or landfill bio-gas, for example. In fact, we will have the opportunity to support PPAs here, when bipartisan legislation is introduced in the Legislature very soon, writes Holly Cloonan of Charleston in a Letter to the Editor in the Jan. 25 issue of the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Read the full letter.

Letter to the Editor: Lawmakers should legalize power agreements (Daily Mail Opinion)

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are one step that West Virginia lawmakers can take this session to encourage competition, growth, and development in our rapidly changing energy system, writes Tom Loehr, president of Collegiate Solar Energy, and Autumn Long, program director of Solar United Neighbors of West Virginia in a Letter to the Editor to the Daily Mail WV Opinion page of the Charleston Gazette-Mail on Jan. 15, 2019.

Read the full letter.

Charles Town mayor advocates for power purchase agreements

Solar Panels are installed on a Morgan County roof. Scott Rogers, Mayor of Charles Town, has come out in support of third-party power purchase agreements, and he is advocating for the 2019 state legislature to legalize their use. Journal file photo

Jan. 15, 2019, The (Martinsburg) Journal

Calling them an “excellent opportunity for the state,” Scott Rogers, mayor of Charles Town, has come out in support of third-party power purchase agreements, and he is advocating for the 2019 state Legislature to legalize their use.

EnergyFreedomWV.org explains that PPAs allow a third-party developer to install, own and operate energy-generating equipment such as a windmill or solar panels on a customer’s property with the customer’s consent. The customer can then purchase the electric output at an agreed upon fixed rate for a predetermined period of time, usually 15-25 years.

Rogers said this system is a way to diversify state energy markets, and he said it would reduce the impact of what he calls “boom and bust” cycles associated with the current utility rates.

Read the full article.