RD173 - Annual Report on the Voluntary Solar Resource Development Fund - June 23, 2014


Executive Summary:
The Voluntary Solar Resource Development Fund was created by the General Assembly in 2011. Voluntary contributions to capitalize the revolving loan fund over the past three years have been very limited and no loans from the fund have been made.

The law, which expires on July 1, 2016, creates a revolving loan fund administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME). The Fund is to be fueled primarily by donations from customers of investor-owned electric utilities. DMME is also authorized to accept donations from other citizens and groups.

DMME was prohibited from issuing any loans from the fund until July 1, 2012. The first year of the program was used to build donations. The law stipulates that DMME may “…delay making loans beyond July 1, 2012, if, in the opinion of the Director, the monies available in the Fund are not sufficient to defray the administrative costs that would be incurred in managing the loan fund.”

In 2011, a DMME vendor launched an online system that allows for donations to be made to the Fund. The Virginia Voluntary Solar Resource Development Fund website is available at https://payments.vi.virginia.gov/solarfund.