Virginia House Bill 636 (Prefiled Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: Introduced on January 9 2024 - 25% progression
Action: 2024-02-08 - Continued to 2025 in Labor and Commerce by voice vote
Pending: House Labor and Commerce Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Prefiled) [HTML]

Siting of energy facilities; approval by State Corporation Commission. Establishes a procedure under which an electric utility or independent power provider (applicant) is able to obtain approval for a certificate from the State Corporation Commission for the siting of an energy facility rather than from the governing body of a locality. Under the bill, applicants are authorized to submit an application to the Commission if (i) the locality fails to timely approve or deny an application; (ii) the application complies with certain requirements for Commission approval, but a host locality denies the application; or (iii) the locality amends its zoning ordinance after it has notified the applicant that its requirements are compatible with the requirements for Commission approval, and the amendment imposes additional requirements that are more restrictive. The bill provides that an applicant who is issued a certificate by the Commission for an energy facility is exempt from obtaining approvals or permits, including any land use approvals or permits under the regulations and ordinances of the locality. Siting of energy facilities; approval by State Corporation Commission. Establishes a procedure under which an electric utility or independent power provider (applicant) is able to obtain approval for a certificate from the State Corporation Commission for the siting of an energy facility rather than from the governing body of a locality. Under the bill, applicants are authorized to submit an application to the Commission if (i) the locality fails to timely approve or deny an application; (ii) the application complies with certain requirements for Commission approval, but a host locality denies the application; or (iii) the locality amends its zoning ordinance after it has notified the applicant that its requirements are compatible with the requirements for Commission approval, and the amendment imposes additional requirements that are more restrictive. The bill provides that an applicant who is issued a certificate by the Commission for an energy facility is exempt from obtaining approvals or permits, including any land use approvals or permits under the regulations and ordinances of the locality. The bill applies to any solar energy facility with a capacity of 50 megawatts or more, any wind energy facility with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more, and any energy storage facility with a nameplate capacity of 50 megawatts or more and an energy discharge capability of 200 megawatt hours or more.

Siting of energy facilities; approval by the State Corporation Commission.

Del. Richard Sullivan [D]

Date	Chamber	Action
2024-02-08	House	Continued to 2025 in Labor and Commerce by voice vote
2024-02-06	House	Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2025 by voice vote
2024-01-30	House	Assigned L & C sub: Subcommittee #3
2024-01-26	House	Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
2024-01-26	House	Referred from Counties, Cities and Towns by voice vote
2024-01-09	House	Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
2024-01-09	House	Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24102984D

HB636 (Carry Over) 2024-02-08 - Continued to 2025 in Labor and Commerce by voice vote

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
15	2	2316.6	(n/a)	See Bill Text
15	2	2316.9	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?251+sum+HB636
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?251+ful+HB636+hil
Supplement	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?251+oth+HB636F171+PDF