Virginia signs 12 bills to expand distributed energy

The Piedmont Environmental Council announced that Gov. Spanberger has signed (or is expected to sign) 12 energy bills PEC authored, informed, or advocated for in the 2026 General Assembly to accelerate distributed generation and storage in Virginia.

• Main action:12 bills signed into law (pending two minor amendments) by Gov. Spanberger, including an official agrivoltaics definition (SB340/HB508 signed April 6), the Distributed Generation Expansion Act (SB175/HB628) that mandates 1 GW of solar on previously disturbed sites and increases distributed generation build nearly five-fold, and major storage mandates that raise short-duration storage from 2.6 GW to 16 GW and set a 4 GW long-duration storage target by 2045.
• Background & implementation details: Developed with stakeholders including Virginia Farm Bureau, Southern Environmental Law Center, Virginia Conservation Network, Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Solar United Neighbors, Permit Power, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Advanced Energy United; includes smart permitting (SolarApp+), consumer disclosure/penalties for residential solar (SB823/HB1439), a Distributed Energy Resources Task Force (SB223/HB285) (approval pending minor amendments), and enablement of virtual power plants and shared solar expansions. Event: Solar for the Ag Community: An Agrivoltaics Workshop — Wednesday, April 22 @ 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., PEC’s Community Farm, Aldie, VA (free; registration required).