The national SolSmart program, a free technical assistance and solar readiness initiative, has recognized the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) with a prestigious Platinum designation. A SolSmart Platinum designation recognizes NVRC as having gone above and beyond to improve access to affordable solar energy for residents and businesses. NVRC is the first community in the South and the first regional organization in the country to earn this award.
The SolSmart program, led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), recognizes local governments that improve access, reduce costs and streamline permitting for residential and commercial solar installations. To date, over 550 communities in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have earned SolSmart designation. SolSmart is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO).
“NVRC is honored to receive this prestigious designation from the SolSmart program. We are proud to work with our local government partners and others to assist our communities reach their climate and sustainability goals. Having that work recognized is greatly appreciated,” said Northern Virginia Regional Commission Chair John T. Chapman of the City of Alexandria.
NVRC has long been a leader in efforts to remove barriers to solar installations and improve energy choice for residents. Starting in 2014, the Commission launched the region’s first Solarize NoVA program, resulting in more than 1,000 contracts, more than $27 million in private sector investment, and more than 9.4 MW of solar installed over ten years. Working with the SolSmart program, NVRC has hosted multiple informational webinars on topics related to solar permitting, zoning, inspection and more. These webinars, along with other trusted resources, have been made freely available on NVRC’s website. Additionally, NVRC created the first-in-the-Commonwealth regional solar map that provides a birds-eye view on how large a solar array may fit on the roof of a business or home, its potential energy generation, and the environmental and cost-saving benefits.
These efforts led NVRC to earn its first SolSmart designation in 2019, achieving Gold and becoming the 250th designee in the U.S. Since then, NVRC has continued to improve access and remove barriers, resulting in its milestone Platinum designation this year. These efforts have made an impact: Solar in Northern Virginia has grown from 51 arrays with a capacity of 208 kW in 2009 to 12,274 arrays with a capacity of more than 115,000 kW in 2023. (2024 data are still being compiled.)
“The Northern Virginia Regional Commission’s achievement of the Platinum SolSmart designation is a powerful testament to the region’s leadership in solar readiness. This recognition reflects the hard work of NVRC and its member localities in removing barriers to solar energy adoption and accelerating Virginia’s all-of-the-above plan for a reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy future,” said Vince Maiden, director of the State Energy Office at the Virginia Department of Energy.
News item from SolSmart
