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To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Site Lease Agreement and a Solar Power Purchase Agreement Project Agreement No. 3- Main Library between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of installing, operating, and maintaining rooftop solar panels on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street for the generation of solar power energy for use and purchase by the City, and a Solar Renewable Energy Credit Irrevocable Assignment Agreement No. 3- Main Library between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of assigning to the City a percentage of solar renewable energy certificates generated by the rooftop solar panels operated by RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street. (2nd District)
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THE CITY OF RICHMOND HEREBY ORDAINS:
§ 1. That the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, be and is hereby authorized to execute a Site Lease Agreement between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of installing, operating, and maintaining rooftop solar panels on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street for the generation of solar power energy for use and purchase by the City. The Site Lease Agreement shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney and shall be substantially in the form of the document attached to this ordinance.
§ 2. That the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, be and is hereby authorized to execute a Solar Power Purchase Agreement Project Agreement No. 3- Main Library between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of installing, operating, and maintaining rooftop solar panels on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street for the generation of solar power energy for use and purchase by the City. The Solar Power Purchase Agreement Project Agreement No. 3- Main Library shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney and shall be substantially in the form of the document attached to this ordinance.
§ 3. That the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, be and is hereby authorized to execute a Solar Renewable Energy Credit Irrevocable Assignment Agreement No. 3- Main Library between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of assigning to the City a percentage of solar renewable energy certificates generated by the rooftop solar panels operated by RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street. The Solar Renewable Energy Credit Irrevocable Assignment Agreement No. 3- Main Library shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney and shall be substantially in the form of the document attached to this ordinance.
§ 4. This ordinance shall be in force and effect upon adoption.
DATE: September 14, 2026 EDITION: 1
TO: The Honorable Members of City Council
THROUGH: The Honorable Dr. Danny Avula, Mayor
THROUGH: Odie Donald, Chief Administrative Officer
THROUGH: Tanikia Jackson, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Finance and Administration
THROUGH: Meghan Brown, Director of Budget & Strategic Planning
THROUGH: Al Wiggins, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Operations
THROUGH: Gail Johnson, Director of General Services
THROUGH: Amy Popovich, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services
THROUGH: Scott Firestine, Director of Libraries
THROUGH: Sharon Ebert, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Planning & Economic Development
FROM: Laura Thomas, Director of Office of Sustainability
RE: To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Main Library Site Lease Agreement, a Solar Power Purchase Agreement, and a Solar Renewable Energy Credit Irrevocable Assignment Agreement between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC.
ORD. OR RES. No.
PURPOSE: To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Main Library Site Lease Agreement and a Solar Power Purchase Project Agreement between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of installing, operating, and maintaining rooftop solar panels on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street; Richmond, Virginia 23219 for the generation of solar power energy for use and purchase by the City, and a Solar Renewable Energy Credit Irrevocable Assignment Agreement between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC for the purpose of assigning to the City a percentage of solar renewable energy certificates generated by the rooftop solar panels operated by RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC on City-owned property located at 101 East Franklin Street; Richmond, Virginia 23219.
BACKGROUND: Greenhouse gas emissions generated from energy use in Richmond’s building portfolio represent the largest share of the City’s carbon footprint. To achieve the City’s goal of 100% municipal renewable electricity, Richmond must shift from purchasing renewable energy credits to generating onsite power. On-site renewable energy generation and storage are strategically identified under the City’s Climate Equity Action Plan, RVAgreen 2050, specifically in the Buildings and Energy Objective 1: Achieve climate neutrality and increase resilience in government buildings, infrastructure and operations.
This opportunity to meet our municipal energy needs through solar generation reflects years of planning and research and is a direct outcome of Richmond’s participation in the Municipal Investment Fund - a national program that helps cities accelerate their clean energy transition through technical assistance and market-building funding. Through this program, more than 10MW of viable solar capacity was identified across municipal facilities - enough to meet approximately 50% of the City’s electricity demand. Given ongoing budget constraints, a Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) emerged as the most practical and cost-effective mechanism to implement multi-site solar projects. A PPA requires no upfront capital, reduces risk, and allows the City to purchase power for the next 25 years at rates lower than the utility. Additionally, because of expiring Federal Tax Credits related to clean energy projects, the Mayor’s Office, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and multiple City departments and Directors, worked with Procurement and Legal teams to explore using cooperative procurement for PPAs in the Commonwealth of Virginia to expedite the process.
The City of Richmond will enter into a contract with RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC using cooperative procurement language pertaining to a Request for Proposals from Prince William County Public Schools, dated August 2, 2021, Number R-DJ-22002 for Solar Power Purchase Agreement Services. After reviewing other active Virginia locality cooperative procurements for PPAs, this contract was selected based on the solar contractor’s long track record in Virginia since 2005, prior success with Richmond Public Schools in 2018, and established legal precedent for lease structure from Roanoke and Blacksburg. Through this PPA model:
• The solar contractor designs, installs, owns, operates, and maintains the solar photovoltaic electric generation systems at multiple municipal properties, which includes assuming all costs of labor, materials, and equipment
• The City incurs no upfront, ongoing or closeout costs unless the City wishes to purchase or remove the panels before the service term concludes
• The solar contractor sells the electricity generated by solar systems back to the City
• Energy payments are structured to generate guaranteed net savings to the City
• Maintenance and performance risks are transferred to the developer
There are 39 city-owned properties included in this Master Solar Power Purchase Agreement. Each facility has a separate site lease. As part of contract services, additional engineering analysis will determine if any site cannot move forward in which case the lease will be terminated. All projects will go through the City’s permitting process.
Each selected city facility will have its own individual system to be designed, installed, operated and maintained for the City and will be defined by a Project Agreement and Site Lease for a term of 5 years (5-year lease with up to 5 additional 5-year terms upon approval of RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC and adoption by City Council and subject to City Council appropriation), which meets the requirements of the Municipal Lease Act. The cost of power at each site will be based on current utility prices and escalators for inflation, saving the city from the volatile energy market. Pricing is facility and market specific, and a rate chart is included as Schedule C of the Solar Power Purchase Project Agreement.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: The proposed enterprise solar power purchase agreement is a contract between the City of Richmond and RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC and was not subject to advance public engagement. However, on-site solar power generation was identified as a key strategy to reduce municipal energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions in the RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Action Plan, which was the result of years of extensive community engagement. This included collaboration with a Buildings and Energy Working Group to ensure strategies were representative of community identified priorities. Additionally, RVAgreen 2050 prioritizes community education and engagement in order to meet long-term sustainability goals; education and outreach related to energy burden and solar adoption are specifically identified in BE 2.1 and BE 3.1. Since its inception, the Office of Sustainability has worked to equip residents with the knowledge and resources needed to benefit from the City’s clean energy transition, with a focus on reducing energy burden, expanding access to solar, and strengthening community resilience. Most recently, this work has included an energy education module and targeted outreach efforts in the East End around energy resilience, including the East End Solar Meadow and associated Community Benefits Agreement, community resilience hub planning, a citywide energy burden study with Community Climate Collaborative, and energy efficiency improvements at Whitcomb Court. The Office of Sustainability will integrate this municipal solar initiative into its broader energy education efforts and will share information about the projects through various engagement channels.
STRATEGIC INITATIVES ALIGNMENT: The proposed initiative is supported by the Joint Energy Team, with specific assistance from the Renewable Energy Planning Subcommittee. An enterprise solar power purchase agreement supports strategies in the RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Action Plan and is in alignment with the Thriving City Hall and Thriving Sustainable Built Environment pillars from the Mayoral Action Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT: The structure of the proposed Master Solar Power Purchase Agreement (“MSPPA”) enables the City of Richmond to avoid upfront capital costs as well as operation and maintenance costs of the systems, and to purchase power generated from the systems at rates that are structured to generate net savings over the next 25 years. Federal Tax Credits will reduce project costs by up to 50%.
There are 39 proposed site locations, which represent the potential for a minimum of 5 MW of solar energy generation and a minimum of $15 million in electricity cost avoidance for the next 25 years. Cost avoidance projections will continue to be updated during the next 25 years to reflect real-time data.
A termination value schedule is included as Schedule E of the Solar Power Purchase Project Agreement, should the City decide to purchase the systems during or after the next 25 years and/or in the event of default or circumstances outlined in the agreement that would result in termination.
RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC will assign a portion of the Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) for implemented systems to the City beginning in year six, thereby enabling the City to reduce electricity rates, avoid additional SREC purchase costs and further contribute to the City’s 100% municipal renewable energy goal, while also making progress toward our 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions goal.
DESIRED EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon adoption
REQUESTED INTRODUCTION DATE: September 14, 2026
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING DATE: September 28, 2026
REQUESTED AGENDA: Consent
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL COMMITTEE: Government Operations
AFFECTED AGENCIES: Richmond Public Library; Department of General Services; Office of Sustainability
RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING ORD. OR RES.: None
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Master Solar Power Purchase Agreement between RVA PSL Solar 2050 LLC and the City of Richmond
2. Exhibit 1 - Project Agreement for Main Library
3. Exhibit 2 - Site Lease Agreement for Main Library
4. Exhibit 3 - Solar Renewable Energy Credit Irrevocable Assignment Agreement for Main Library
STAFF: Sarah Carpenter, Mayor’s Office
Dawn Oleksy, Office of Sustainability