HB724:

Electric cooperatives; net energy metering for agricultural customer-generators, report.

Bill Summary:

Electric cooperatives; net energy metering for
agricultural customer-generators; report. Removes the July 1,
2019, sunset provision of the net energy metering program for agricultural
customer-generators interconnected with electric cooperatives. The
bill provides that, for the purposes of net metering, an agricultural
customer-generator may aggregate energy generated on noncontiguous
parcels of land if the parcels are (i) owned and operated by the
same agricultural customer-generator and (ii) located within a reasonable
distance of the customer's original interconnection site. The bill
directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry to convene a workgroup
for the purpose of assessing policy concerns related to the implementation
of small-scale solar energy projects designed to meet the onsite
energy needs of agricultural operations in the Commonwealth, and directs
the workgroup to report its recommendations to the House Committee
on Agriculture, Chesapeake & Natural Resources and the Senate Committee
on Agriculture, Conservation & Natural Resources by December 1, 2022.