Six of the nine new solar projects totaling 416 of the 498 megawatts of energy at peak output are power purchase agreements selected following a competitive solicitation process

This is the big story

Virginia, like other states with Renewable Portfolio Standards, is using its new energy projects to generate half as much clean energy as they claim they are. When they claim "60% renewable energy", they've only reached 30%; when they claim 100%, only 50%.

Here's how it works:

The state of Virginia bestows a 1-megawatthour (MWh) "Renewable Energy Certificate" (REC) upon solar and wind farms for each MWh of clean electricity they generate. The farms can then sell those certificates, supposedly representing the "clean energy attributes" of the electricity, to gas plants to magically clean up dirty electricity they've already generated.

Like criminals in the Middle Ages who could absolve prior sins by paying a fee to the Catholic Church, gas generators are being allowed to meet clean energy requirements by simply buying paper certificates. Not only can both entities take credit for generating the same clean energy, neither is forced to accept responsibility for the CO2 emitted by the gas plant. In effect, it's swept under the rug.

Twenty-six states are currently double-counting the value of renewable energy with this scam, with profound negative impacts on the environment.