Monday was an important day of reflection for our country and, for over 200 Virginians, it was a chance to come together to speak out at Virginia Conservation Lobby Day. The day was jam packed with trainings, speakers presenting on pieces of legislation and, most important of all, lobby visits that covered a wide range of conservation issues for Virginia.
There was a wide ranger of participants, including high school students and students from the University of Mary Washington. For many of them, it was their first time lobbying and they were excited at the impact their visit had.
Students from the UMW met with their delegate, Republican Speaker of the House William Howell, to discuss HB 2191 (SB 975) the Voluntary Solar Resources Development Fund. Speaker Howell called it a ‘no brainer’ and he’s right, which is why this bill is receiving bipartisan support.
This bill is a Win-Win-Win for Virginia. It’s a Win for Virginia because it creates a source of funding for residential solar installations at no cost to taxpayers, instead is funded by opt-in donations of $1 or more by utility consumers. It’s a Win for Business because it will grow the Virginia solar industry locally instead of being forced to travel to neighboring states that already have similar solar incentives. And it’s a Win for Utilities because, according to Dominion Virginia Power, distributed solar power reduced the need for the more expensive types of power generation, which are old natural gas peaking facilities.
