20 Va. Admin. Code § 5-340-40

Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 10, December 30, 2024

Section 20VAC5-340-40 - Registration with the utility

A. Subscriber organizations that are licensed, exempted, or granted a waiver from the commission consistent with 20VAC5-340-30 shall register each proposed shared solar facility with the utility by:

1. Providing proof of licensure, exemption, or waiver by the commission, as applicable.

2. Submitting to the utility the full name of the subscriber organization, address, and type of entity (e.g. partnership, corporation, etc.).

3. Providing the identity of the shared solar facility participating in the shared solar program, including an address of record and a copy of the executed Small Generator Interconnection Agreement or an Interconnection Service Agreement as defined by the regional transmission operator for the shared solar facility. Subscriber organizations also shall state the amount of capacity for the facility, including any percentage that will be subscribed by low-income subscribers and provide proof that non-ministerial permits have been obtained for the shared solar facility. Subscriber organizations shall also state the facility's anticipated substantial completion date.

4. For a low-income shared solar facility, the subscriber organization shall provide a copy of its low-income subscription plan, as applicable.

5. Providing the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of appropriate internal points of contact to address operational, business coordination, and customer account issues, and the names and addresses of their registered agents in Virginia.

6. In the event a license granted under 20VAC5-340-30 is transferred to another entity with approval from the commission, the subscriber organization must notify the utility within five business days of approval by the commission.

7. Providing reasonable financial security if required by the utility to safeguard the utility and its customers from the reasonably expected net financial impact due to the nonperformance of the subscriber organization. The amount of such financial security shall be commensurate with the level of risk assumed by the utility but shall not be greater than $50 per kilowatt (kW) alternating current. Such financial security may include a letter of credit, a deposit in an escrow account, a prepayment arrangement, a surety bond, or other arrangements that may be mutually agreed upon by the utility and the subscriber organization. Subscriber organizations deemed bona fide nonprofits shall be exempt from any security deposit or bond.

B. The utility shall provide to the subscriber organization the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of appropriate internal points of contact to address operational, business coordination, and customer account issues.

C. The utility shall notify the subscriber organization within 30 days after the subscriber organization submits a shared solar facility registration to the utility whether the shared solar facility has been awarded capacity in the program queue or placed on a waiting list. When awarded capacity in the program queue, if required by the utility, the subscriber organization shall pay to the utility a security deposit or bond, whichever the subscriber organization chooses, in an amount determined by the utility of up to $50 per kW of alternating-current (AC) rated capacity of the shared solar facility within 10 days. Security deposits shall be held by the utility in an interest-bearing account. Deposits shall be returned in full, including interest, upon commercial operation of the shared solar facility and demonstration that the subscriber organization has satisfied its low-income subscription plan commitments.

D. Shared solar facility meter requirements. A shared solar facility must have a utility-provided meter capable of measuring output of the facility on a 30-minute interval basis.

1. The shared solar facility's meter shall not be located behind another utility customer account.

2. Costs of installation, maintenance, and reading of the meter shall be billed to the subscriber organization.

E. If a project approved January 1, 2025, or later fails to reach substantial completion within 24 months of the date the project was awarded capacity, the utility shall remove the project from the program queue unless the subscriber organization of the project provides to the utility an additional deposit of $75 per kW to maintain its position within the program queue. If, after paying the additional deposit, the project still fails to reach substantial completion within an additional nine months, the utility shall remove the project from the program queue. However, if the subscriber organization notifies the utility that the subscriber organization is prepared to proceed with the commissioning tests, as set forth in 20VAC5-314-90, or comparable project milestone, and the utility must delay proceeding with the interconnection for reasons beyond the utility's control, the time periods in this subsection will be tolled until the utility is able to proceed with the interconnection.

If a project approved prior to January 1, 2025, fails to reach substantial completion within 36 months of the date it was awarded capacity, the utility shall remove the project from the program queue unless the subscriber organization of the project provides to the utility an additional deposit of $25 per kW to maintain its position within the program queue for an additional 12 months.

F. The utility shall maintain, on a publicly available website, a list of projects accepted into the program queue and those projects that are on the wait list. The list shall include project applicant name, project location, the alternating current capacity rating of the project, the date the application was accepted into the program queue, and either the date the project is anticipated to reach substantial completion or the date the project reached substantial completion.

1. For each accepted project in the program queue, the project list shall rank projects primarily by the date of the awarded capacity and secondarily by the date of anticipated substantial completion. Any subscriber organization with a project in the program queue shall notify the utility within 10 days of any reduction in a project's anticipated installed AC capacity or its ability to achieve the anticipated substantial completion date. The utility shall update the list within two business days of any change to the date of awarded capacity in the program queue, and within 14 business days of any change to the date of substantial completion.

2. For each wait-listed project in the program queue, the list shall rank projects by the date the project was placed on the wait list. For a Phase II Utility's program, a single project may have some portion of its capacity allocated to the utility's part one aggregate capacity and the remaining portion allocated to the utility's part two aggregate capacity.

G. Once 90% of the part one aggregate capacity for a Phase II Utility has been subscribed and the related project construction is substantially complete, the Phase II Utility shall file a notification of this occurrence with the commission.

H. Any project on the wait list that is moved off the wait list and receives a capacity award in the program queue shall have 10 business days to make the required deposit of $50 per kW of alternating-current rated capacity to retain the project's award.

I. As part of its public program queue, the utility shall monitor and report the amount of capacity that has been allocated to low-income customers, which also shall be published on the utility's website. Capacity shall be released without undue delay and allocated first to projects on the wait list and, if capacity remains, to new applicants on a first-come, first-served basis following the registration requirements and process set forth in this section.

J. Certain shared solar program projects shall be entitled to receive incentives, as established by the Virginia Department of Energy, when they are located on rooftops, brownfields, or landfills; are dual-use agricultural facilities; or meet the definition of another category established by the Department of Energy.

20 Va. Admin. Code § 5-340-40

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 37, Issue 11, eff. 1/1/2021; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 09, eff. 1/1/2025.

Statutory Authority: §§ 12.1-13 and 56-594.3 of the Code of Virginia.