News > New solar laws to celebrate in Virginia: plug-in solar, consumer protections, and Virtual Power Plants

New solar laws to celebrate in Virginia: plug-in solar, consumer protections, and Virtual Power Plants

• Solar accessibility

April 23, 2026

It’s official: More Virginians are about to feel the benefits of solar energy!

Through collaborative coalition efforts, Solar United Neighbors (SUN) and our powerful community of advocates have successfully moved the needle on several key energy policies in Virginia, such as expanding the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), strengthening solar and storage ordinances and permitting, codifying consumer protections, and enabling novel technologies like plug-in solar. These new policies will boost solar deployment and maximize solar savings while strengthening our energy grid and protecting the rights of all Virginia ratepayers.

Below, learn exactly what the legislature passed and how it will benefit solar owners, Virginians without solar, and the Commonwealth as a whole. If you are as excited by these outcomes as we are, take a moment to thank your legislators — when they hear our appreciation, it encourages more solar wins in the future.

The big win: The Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) package passed!

SUN’s primary priority this session was to work with partner organizations to get the Affordable Clean Energy package passed — and it did! The ACE package includes five key bills:

• The Distributed Generation Expansion Act (SB 175/HB 628), which increases the carveout in the Renewable Portfolio Standard for small-scale solar across the Commonwealth. It also allows for more third party-owned solar projects by removing the capacity limit for qualification. 
• Energy Storage Reform (SB 448/HB 895), which advances Virginia’s storage capabilities by increasing targets, providing local governments with safety and ordinance guidance, and forming a workgroup to identify future development incentives. This could save ratepayers at least $8.4 million a year. 
• New Consumer Protections (SB 823/HB 590), which protect homeowners from predatory practices by requiring a consumer disclosure form with clearly laid out system specifications, costs, and financing options, signed prior to the contract. 
• Smart Rooftop Permitting (SB 382/ HB 395), which establishes a state-managed automated platform that instantly reviews plans and issues permits for residential systems that meet safety and building codes.
• Balcony Solar (SB 250/ HB 395), which removes interconnection red tape for small, plug-in solar panels while maintaining safety through strict adherence to National Electric Code (NEC) and Underwriter Laboratory (UL) standards. 

More solar wins to celebrate

• The Net Metering Standby Charge Threshold Bill (HB1255) reduces monthly energy bills for net metering customers by increasing the threshold for a monthly standby charge from 15 kWac to 20 kWac.
• The Appalachian Power Company (APCo) VPP Bill (HB 1467) will create a 150 MW Virtual Power Plant (VPP) (learn about VPPs here) pilot program in APCo territory starting in July 2028. This pilot could save Virginia ratepayers more than $20 million. 
• The Electric Coop VPP Bill (SB 487/HB 562) authorizes Virginia’s 13 electric cooperatives to voluntarily establish their own VPP programs starting in 2027. 
• The Dominion Shared Solar Expansion Bill (SB 254/HB 807) will increase the size of its shared solar program from 150 MW to 525 MW, and release that additional capacity this summer. 
• The APCo Shared Solar Billing Bill (SB 255/HB 809) will add an additional 50 MW this July and another 50 MW of capacity in January 2028 while lowering subscription fees. This could save ratepayers more than $3 million.

• The Data Center Demand Flexibility Bill (HB 284) directs ApCo and Dominion to work with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to develop demand flexibility programs for high energy demand customers like data centers. 
• EV charging (SB 407/ HB 1225) incentivizes the build out of utility-owned or operated electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Dominion and APCo territories and will increase EV adoption and EV participation in VPP programs. 
• IRP Plan Reform (SB 249/ HB 429) requires utilities to include energy efficiency targets and incorporation of VPPs into their proposals to energy regulators for how they will meet future electricity demand. This will also make it harder for utilities to over-rely on fossil fuels and utility scale resources. 

Why these bills matter

Expansion of solar through these legislative wins will offer a much needed solution to Virginia’s strained grid and rising electricity rates. The latest analysis from Current Energy Group shows that these bills could help Virginia tap into the power of existing distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar panels and batteries, which would provide the same amount of reliable power to our grid as a 950 MW natural gas plant while costing nearly $320 million less per year. That would put $100 back in the hands of each ratepayer every year.