Appalachian Power is seeking state approval to purchase power from three solar facilities being developed in Southwest and Southside Virginia.
Virginia’s second-largest electric utility said in a recent filing with the State Corporation Commission that it has entered into power purchase agreements to buy electricity from the 150-megawatt County Line Solar facility in Charlotte County, the 80-megawatt 7 Bridges Solar facility in Mecklenburg County and the 5-megawatt Elliot Solar facility in Tazewell County.
Appalachian Power said it anticipates commercial operations beginning in late 2025 at the Elliot Solar site and in late 2026 at the County Line Solar and 7 Bridges Solar sites. The agreements are for 20 years each at the County Line and Elliott sites and for 30 years at the 7 Bridges site.
Under a power purchase agreement, a solar company owns the generation facility and sells the electricity to a customer. Appalachian said that the purchases would reduce the amount of electricity it must buy from regional energy markets and help it meet state-mandated renewable energy standards and clean energy goals.
The utility has had eight other power purchase agreements approved for facilities ranging from 5 to 100 megawatts in size.
“In addition to meeting our requirements under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), we continually look for opportunities to diversify our energy mix to meet the needs of our customers who want renewable energy,” Appalachian Power spokesperson Teresa Hamilton Hall said in an email. The VCEA, passed in 2020, mandates that Appalachian Power supply 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.
The SCC said Thursday that it plans to hold a hearing on Appalachian’s petition at 10 a.m. March 6. Anyone who wants to offer public comments during that hearing should provide their name and phone number to the SCC by Feb. 26 via a form on the commission’s website, or by emailing a PDF version of that form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov, or by calling 804-371-9141.
