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Happy Friday!
June 13, 2025
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The Energy Right team traveled to over 10 counties and cities in the Commonwealth this week, attending public hearings, meetings, and solar-oriented discussions on our mission for clean energy, the Right Way.
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Grid Strain Ahead: PJM’s Summer Forecast Raises Red Flags
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Over the past few weeks, PJM Interconnection—the grid operator for the Mid-Atlantic—issued a rare and urgent warning: while they anticipate having enough generation to meet a projected peak of 154,000 MW this summer, unforeseen outages or extreme heat could drive demand past 166,000 MW, exceeding available reserves. In that case, PJM would be forced to activate emergency demand-response programs, asking major electricity users to reduce consumption or risk rolling blackouts. It’s the first time the grid operator has issued such a shortage alert, and it reflects growing strain from a wave of fossil plant retirements, surging electricity demand, and the proliferation of power-intensive facilities like data centers.
Most of the new generation being added in PJM today comes from solar—the fastest-to-deploy and most scalable source currently available. But solar alone can’t shoulder the weight of peak summer reliability. We need to pair renewables with grid-scale storage and ensure those projects can connect and deliver power across states. That means upgrading our transmission network, especially in states like Virginia, where local opposition and interconnection bottlenecks continue to slow progress. Without faster, more coordinated investment in dispatchable clean energy, PJM may increasingly rely on costly emergency measures or risk outages that put homes, businesses, and critical services in jeopardy in the heat of summer.
This technical challenge should also be a wake-up call. If we want to prevent avoidable blackouts, support for the development of resilient energy resources every step of the way is critical. That includes streamlining the siting approval process, incentivizing storage buildout, and advancing regional transmission solutions that allow energy to flow where it’s needed, when it’s needed. The consequences of inaction aren’t theoretical anymore, they’re forecasted.
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Sheep of the Week
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Photogenic as ever, this mother sheep and her lamb take a pause between solar panels. Agrivoltaics and finding dual usage for lands presents a unique opportunity for farmers and communities to maintain autonomy and ownership while still practicing traditional methods alongside new dynamics.
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Solar Power Helps Rewire Budgets and Build Community in Appalachia
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In Appalachia, federal clean energy tax credits are doing more than reducing electricity bills—they’re powering a regional transformation. According to a 2025 report by Appalachian Voices, federal incentives have unlocked projects for schools, churches, nonprofits, and small businesses that would otherwise be priced out of solar adoption. In West Virginia alone, solar capacity surged by more than 2,000% in 2024, illustrating a rapid pivot in a state long defined by coal.
The change is perhaps best exemplified by Calhoun County Public Schools, which became the first district in the state to install solar through a no-upfront-cost agreement. With estimated savings of $2.1 million over 35 years, the district is reinvesting those funds directly into the classroom. The initiative also launched a student workforce development program, pairing classroom learning with hands-on experience in solar installation and energy careers.
This model is being replicated throughout the region. Across 25 community-serving institutions in Central Appalachia, 1.3 megawatts of solar were deployed using these credits, with lifetime savings estimated at over $7.6 million. For many rural communities with tight budgets, the clean energy tax credit program is a sound economic strategy to put back into the infrastructure that matters most.
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This week our team went to Brunswick, Essex, Farmville, Goochland, Henrico, James City, Lunenburg, Prince Edward, Rockbridge, Scott, and Williamsburg cities/counties. Busy, busy!
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The Energy Right team attended an event hosted by the Farmville Chamber of Commerce and SCVBA in Farmville to hear from Dominion, Strata, and SCVBA on how solar is impacting Virginia communities. It was great to see so many community members and local businesses attend and ask questions around the topic.
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Virginia Tech study sheds light on solar farm impacts to property values
– VT News
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A major new study from Virginia Tech offers the most comprehensive analysis to date on how large-scale solar development affects nearby property values. After examining nearly 9 million real estate transactions across the U.S., researchers found that while farmland and vacant properties within two miles of a solar installation increased in value by nearly 20%, residential properties within three miles saw a modest 4.8% decline on average. Notably, visibility of the solar farm had little measurable impact.
The findings suggest that fears over declining property values may be more perception-driven than based on material consequences, particularly for smaller residential lots. For developers and local governments in Virginia and beyond, this study shows the need for thoughtful siting, transparent communication, and community engagement. As solar expansion continues, the opportunity to pair landowner benefits with agricultural viability—and dispel myths about property value loss—could help smooth the path for future projects.
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NEXT WEEK
We’ll be traveling to Albemarle, Brunswick, Cumberland, Franklin, and Sussex counties next time!
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U.S. clean power capacity now exceeds 320 GW—enough to power 80 million homes—driven by record-breaking battery storage growth and a development pipeline worth $328 billion. In Q1 2025 alone, 7.4 GW of new capacity came online across 115 project phases, reflecting strong private sector confidence. Notably, battery storage surged 65% year-over-year, while eight of the top ten deployment states voted Republican in 2024, demonstrating the growth for clean energy’s expanding geographic and political footprint.
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