Qcells and Goodleap testify in support of HB 1132, which would allow Virginia localities to use a portion of data center tax revenues to deploy solar and storage in local communities. As one of the largest solar manufacturers investing in U.S. domestic production, Qcells see HB 1132 as a pragmatic way to translate Virginia’s data center growth into bill savings for residents through the deployment of solar and storage. By explicitly tying a portion of data center tax receipts to customer-facing clean energy investments, communities impacted by data centers will have more opportunities to add distributed solar and storage to their residences—giving them long-term protection from energy bill increases. Not only can deployment of rooftop solar and storage help families and businesses with energy affordability, it can also be scaled quickly, in months not years. As more households are able to deploy solar and storage communities are benefitting from reduced peak load and avoided transmission costs, bill savings that can be reinvested in their local economies, and jobs created by supporting American manufacturing and installation. Qcells stands ready to deploy our American made solar panels in local communities to deliver savings to residents. We respectfully urge the Appropriations Committee to support HB 1132 and the General Assembly to enact it into law. The bill offers Virginia a fiscally responsible way to harness data center growth to expand access to affordable energy, especially for low- and moderate-income households. Qcells and Goodleap stand ready to work with local governments, utilities, and community organizations to ensure that the programs enabled by HB 1132 deliver tangible benefits to Virginia families and support a resilient, domestically supplied energy economy in the Commonwealth.

I'm Nathan Soules, a founding member of Zero Carbon Virginia, and I live in Leesburg, VA. ZCV supports HB897, HB1132, and HB1133. The growing impact of data centers on our grid is too large to ignore. As the JLARC study on data centers found, it would be “very difficult” to build enough electric infrastructure to support unconstrained demand for data centers. HB897 leverages the tax exemption given to data centers to incentivize use of clean energy. Replacing diesel and gas generators with cleaner alternatives reduces greenhouse gas emissions and local impacts on noise and air quality. Requiring purchase of RECs helps Virginia stay on track with the goals of the VCEA’s RPS. Efficiency standards will help reduce electricity demand. Last year, many of the clean energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act were rolled back. HB1132 and HB1133 both help to mitigate the loss of those federal incentives. This helps Virginia continue to meet its VCEA targets and preserve jobs in the growing solar and energy storage industries. Investment in these low cost technologies will ultimately lower costs for rate payers. Residential solar and energy storage can reduce the need for additional electric transmission and generation, particularly if coordinated with a virtual power plant. Utility-scale solar and energy storage are critical for the transition away from fossil fuel generation.