PEC is seeking an enthusiastic and passionate individual to join our team and advocate for sustainable energy solutions in PEC’s nine-county region and the Commonwealth.
PEC
Net Metering
Net Metering is a billing arrangement whereby owners of rooftop and other small-scale solar receive a 1:1 credit for the excess energy their systems generate and send back to the electric grid.
These credits from when the sun is shining automatically offset your energy bill at later times, such as at night or in winter months when their solar panels are less productive. Those credits are good for an entire year. This is how solar installations “pay for themselves” over time, and it’s what makes solar financially accessible to homeowners, farmers and small businesses.
Net metering is the foundation for distributed generation and allows rooftop solar to be built with the goal of meeting the owner’s annual needs. You do not need to sign up or do any additional work to take advantage of this arrangement.
Why Net Metering is at Risk
However, in May 2025, Dominion Energy petitioned the State Corporation Commission to cut the net metering credit by nearly half. Why? Because monopoly utilities like Dominion make maximum revenue from centralized, utility-scale generation — like gas plants and large-scale solar — and infrastructure like transmission lines. Motivated by profits, Dominion’s tremendous lobbying pressure has been a longstanding and powerful force against efforts to create a more distributed grid that would allow more homeowners and businesses to go solar and create energy independence for themselves.
Dominion’s efforts would have severely undermined the practicality of rooftop solar for many people and critically hampered the viability of increased distributed energy generation and energy independence at a time when skyrocketing data center energy demands are straining the grid, Virginia is importing more energy than ever and more than any other state, and electric bills are increasing.
PEC served as an “intervenor” in this case, joining our partners to challenge Dominion’s arguments, pose questions and offer additional information for SCC’s consideration. Fortunately, in May 2026, The State Corporation Commission (SCC) ruled that net metering will remain unchanged!
PEC’s Ashish Kapoor (far right), alongside partners from Solar United Neighbors, Vote Solar, Sierra Club, Give Solar, and Advanced Energy United, spoke at a press conference to kick off the State Corporation Commission hearing regarding Dominion Energy’s request to reduce the value of net metering payments. Their comments stressed the critical importance of preserving current net metering standards to provide a foundation for more distributed generation in Virginia. PEC also served as an intervenor in the case. The SCC case saw expert testimony and over 1,300 public comments.
Photo by Jessica Sims, Virginia Conservation Network.
Report Finds Solar Far Exceeds Value Communicated by Dominion
In 2025, PEC commissioned Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors to study and calculate the actual value of distributed solar generation in Dominion Energy’s territory — factoring in the range of benefits (such as land conservation, connecting clean energy quickly and mitigating new transmission and generation impacts) that the utility did not account for in its proposed cuts to net metering values. The report, written to be relevant and readable, formed the foundation of PEC’s formal “intervention” when the SCC considered Dominion’s proposal.
Our analysis demonstrated that small-scale distributed solar delivers substantial value that far exceeds what Dominion acknowledged in its proposed net metering framework.
As Virginia advances toward its clean energy targets under the Virginia Clean Economy Act, state policy must reflect the full range of benefits that distributed solar offers. By valuing distributed energy fully and fairly, Virginia is more likely to incentivize meaningful investment in these resources that can play an important role in meeting the state’s energy needs.
Small-scale, distributed solar must play a greater part in Virginia’s energy future. These projects — rooftop solar, parking lot solar, solar on landfills, and dual-use agrivoltaics — bring clean energy to the grid much faster than utility-scale energy generation with lower needs for new transmission and generation, which we all pay for through our utility bills.
Benefits the Electric Grid
Small-scale solar (on rooftops and parking lots) provides immense value by bringing clean energy online quickly and reducing the need for expensive new transmission lines and large-scale power plants — projects that take years to develop with costs that are ultimately passed down to all ratepayers.
Prioritizes Land Conservation
By incentivizing small-scale solar through fair net metering, Virginia can meet its renewable energy goals while protecting working farmlands and open spaces from being converted into massive, utility-scale solar arrays. Emerging practices, like dual-use agrivoltaics that combine agriculture and solar production, also benefit from net metering credits.
Strengthens Grid Reliability
Virginia currently imports more electricity than any other state. At a time when data centers are putting unprecedented strain on our infrastructure, it’s important to encourage distributed energy generation that builds a more resilient and self-sufficient local power grid.
Additional Resources:
- Meaningful Clean Energy Legislation Passed in 2026
- Webinar: Why Dominion is Trying to Kill Smale-Scale Solar
- Dunsky Energy +Climate Value of Solar Report
Have questions about solar? Reach out to Ashish Kapoor at [email protected].
Data Centers in Loudoun: A Primer
Reforms needed and questions the county should answer.
Who’s Protecting the Piedmont?
The beauty of the Piedmont endures thanks to the intentional planning and careful work of many dedicated people and organizations. Here, we highlight three individuals protecting the region in a variety of ways.
Expanded Transmission Line Planned for Southwest Mountains
This text was taken from an email alert sent out on May 12 2026. Sign up for email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
The Southwest Mountains have long been a priority for The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) because of their layers of natural, cultural and historical significance. As data center-fueled infrastructure threatens this area’s unique communities and landscapes, we invite you to a community meeting Wednesday, May 13 to learn more about the proposed Charlottesville-Gordonsville transmission line and how you can make your voice heard.
Charlottesville-Gordonsville Community Meeting
Wednesday, May 13 @ 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Keswick Hunt Club, 626 Hunt Club Road, Keswick
Dominion Energy’s proposal is to wreck and rebuild 20 miles of existing single-circuit 230 kV transmission line between Dominion’s Charlottesville and Gordonsville substations as a double-circuit 230 kV transmission line. This will significantly increase the size of the line and potentially expand the right of way through the Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District and neighborhoods in the Pantops area.
Dominion is framing the upgrade as necessary for “reliability,” but it, and other energy infrastructure expansion across the state, is largely being driven by increased energy demand from data centers.
PEC’s Involvement
Across our nine-county region, PEC is leading the effort to mitigate data center infrastructure projects. Including the Charlottesville-Gordonsville line, we are engaged in 6 transmission projects, more than at any other moment in our history. Understanding the impact of these intensive projects on communities, we are allocating extensive resources to monitor local, state, regional, and federal forums where prospective transmission line projects are proposed and pursued. Our goal is to ensure communities get information about what’s coming and are equipped with information to weigh in knowledgeably about projects throughout the process.
PEC is engaging on this project in several ways:
- In conversations with Dominion Energy and community members, we are advocating for full consideration of alternatives and mitigation of impacts such as:
- undergrounding portions of the line,
- minimizing heights while staying within the existing right of way,
- better design of towers that blend in to setting,
- minimal disturbance during construction, and
- establishing enforceable limits on future expansion.
- Participating in the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) hearing before the SCC.
- Encouraging submission of comments about the line and impacts on communities and properties to the SCC — we need you!
- We anticipate this project to file with the State Corporation Commission any day now.
At the community meeting Wednesday, May 13 PEC staff will present about the Charlottesville-Gordonsville project, how it fits into a broader data-center driven movement, and what you can do about it. RSVP →
Why This Project Matters
Transmission line projects, even those limited to existing rights-of-way, can cause visual impacts from taller towers and poor siting or design selection, construction impacts to nearby rivers, streams, wetlands, and impacts to sensitive ecosystems that support biodiversity, and visual and construction impacts to cultural resources, including archaeological and historical sites, historic buildings and structures and cultural landscapes.
This Charlottesville-Gordonsville project cuts through scores of permanently conserved parcels, the Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District and falls within the Monticello Viewshed Protection Area and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, and is proximate the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway along State Routes 22 and 231.
In addition to being highly valued nationally-significant resources, their preservation directly contributes to our region’s tourism industry, which depends heavily on protecting the area’s historic and scenic landscapes — valued at nearly $1 billion annually.
Hope to see you there,
Chris Miller
President
[email protected]
540-347-2334 x7100
Cville Bike Month: Pour It Forward Closing Party
Close out Charlottesville Bike Month with a party at Random Row Brewery Sunday, May 31.
Page-Sperryville Transmission Line Upgrade: What You Should Know
Regional utility provider FirstEnergy is proposing to rebuild the roughly 14-mile-long, 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line stretching from Luray in Page County to Sperryville in Rappahannock County. Known as the Page-Sperryville Transmission Line Project, it has a target completion date of 2028.
Who’s Protecting the Piedmont? – Spring 2026
Here, we highlight three people who are protecting the Piedmont by growing local food, stewarding conservation easements and donating to make PEC’s work possible.
General Assembly Update — Spring 2026
Every day, Piedmont Environmental Council staff engage at the local, state and federal levels to shape public policy with an eye toward protecting and restoring the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont while building strong, more sustainable communities. The Virginia General Assembly serves as the main stage for these efforts.
On the Ground Updates – April 2026
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.