Shared Solar Program
You can subscribe to a shared solar facility in Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power service territories and receive monthly bill credits based on the solar electricity your subscription generates, with credit rates set annually by the State Corporation Commission for your customer class (residential, commercial, or industrial). Contact a Subscriber Organization licensed by Virginia's State Corporation Commission to purchase a subscription and begin receiving renewable energy credits.
Subscriber Organizations (project developers) must obtain licensure from the Virginia State Corporation Commission to operate shared solar facilities over 500 kW, or file for exemption for smaller facilities, and must register with the utility, secure at least three customer subscriptions, and calculate monthly bill credits for each subscriber based on their class-specific rates. Dominion Energy's territory has a 200 MW aggregate capacity limit with an additional 150 MW available when 90% is subscribed (51% reserved for low-income), while Appalachian Power's limit is 50 MW or 6% of peak load, whichever is less.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission administers licensing for Subscriber Organizations through two pathways (licensed for >500 kW facilities, certified exempt for <500 kW), annually calculates bill credit rates by dividing utility revenues by kilowatt-hour sales for each customer class, and manages capacity limits and low-income set-asides to ensure equitable access. The program covers residential, commercial, industrial, and non-profit sectors under Code of Virginia §56-594.3 (Dominion) and §56-594.4 (Appalachian Power), with questions directed to SharedSolarProject@scc.virginia.gov.
Program details
- Program ID
- 22432
- Effective
- 10/1/2021
- Last updated
- 2/24/2026
Eligibility
- Sectors
- commercial industrial investor-owned utility local government nonprofit residential schools state government federal government agricultural low income residential
- Technologies
- solar photovoltaics
Program summary
The Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation in April 2020 (HB 1634 and SB 629), establishing community solar rules in the service territory of Dominion Energy. The General Assembly adopted additional legislation in April 2024, applying the same rules to the service territory of Appalachian Power (HB 108).
For Dominion Energy, the aggregate capacity limit for all community solar projects is 200 MW. However, once 90% of the 200 MW has been subscribed, the State Corporation Commission will approve an additional 150 MW in capacity, with 51% of that total being set aside for low-income customers. For Appalachian Power, the aggregate capacity limit is 50 MW or 6 % of peak load, whichever is less.
Subscriptions are administered by a Subscriber Organization. Each subscriber will receive a monthly bill credit for the proportional output of a shared solar facility attributable to that subscriber. The bill credit rate is based on the subscriber's customer class of residential, commercial, or industrial. Each class's applicable credit rate will be calculated by the Commission annually by dividing revenues to the class by sales, measured in kilowatt-hours, to that class to yield a bill credit rate for the class ($/kWh).
Contact & resources
- Additional resources
Please verify current program details with the administering agency before making any financial decisions.
