Establishing a community solar program for subscribers to gain credits against their utility bills

HB 2419 establishes a community solar program in West Virginia that allows residential and business electricity customers - including low-income households - to subscribe to shared solar projects and receive bill credits for the electricity generated. Community solar facilities must have at least three subscribers, be limited to 5 megawatts per facility (with a 100-megawatt aggregate cap per utility), and reserve at least 40% of their capacity for subscribers with small subscriptions (25 kilowatts or less). Subscribers receive bill credits calculated at a rate approved by the Public Service Commission, based on the electricity produced (one kilowatt-hour of solar energy equals one kilowatt-hour of credit). The program is separate from existing net metering and will be regulated by the West Virginia Public Service Commission through new rules.