Residential Solar Campaign
Thought of adding solar panels to your home? It's a good time at act.
By Bruce Saller
COLUMNIST
The Virginia statewide residential solar campaign is underway through July 15th. The campaign is a collaboration between Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) and municipalities throughout Virginia. There are several reasons you should consider installing solar panels this year:
Federal Income Tax Credit of 30% of the total cost is still in effect. The proposed tax bill that passed the House would end the credit on 12/31/2025. The Senate still needs to act on the bill.
Dominion Energy has requested a 15% base rate increase during 2026/2027. Any increase in rates will reduce the time it takes to recover your investment.
Prices have been negotiated and are locked in if you sign up by July 15th. (No price increases due to tariffs.)
Dominion Energy has requested a change to the Net Metering program that reduces the savings from residential solar panels. Customers who install solar panels before the State Corporation Commission implements any changes will remain under the current rules. The proposed changes are:
One-time installation fee of $100.
Monthly administrative fee of $1.
Reduced purchase rate for exported solar energy. Currently the rate customers pay for imported energy is the same rate Dominion pays the customer for exported energy (about $.13/Kilo-Watt Hour). Dominion proposed reducing the rate for exported energy to a weighted average of their solar Power Purchase Agreements (currently $.0955).
Dominion filed the request May 2nd and it normally takes 4-5 months for the SCC to implement any changes. You can track the progress of Dominion’s application here.
So, now is probably the best time to install solar panels. There is no cost to sign up and receive an estimate, so what are you waiting for?
Sign up at www.solarizeva.org.
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