ATLANTA – State Representative Beth Camp (R-Concord) was recently named as the chair of the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee on Community Solar. She was appointed to this position by Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee Chairman Don Parsons (R-Marietta).
“It has been an honor to serve in the State House as the chair of the Intragovernmental Coordination Committee, and I am thankful for the opportunity to now also serve as the chair of the Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee on Community Solar,” said Rep. Camp. “Community solar is rapidly growing across the country, and after I introduced House Bill 1152, The Georgia Homegrown Solar Act, we saw the need to further the discussion on this important topic. We will spend time over the interim studying this issue to perfect legislation for consideration during the 2025 legislative session.”
The Community Solar Ad Hoc Committee was created following Chair Camp’s introduction of House Bill 1152, or the Georgia Homegrown Solar Act of 2024, during this year’s legislative session. HB 1152 would allow customers of an electric utility to aggregate demand from multiple locations and subscribe to certain off-site solar facilities, provide nondiscriminatory interconnection of these facilities, provide consumer protections for customers and allow customers to access their own meter usage and provide the usage data to authorized third parties. Further, the bill would create a framework for community solar providers to operate within the state, which would be determined by the Public Service Commission. In many other states, community solar providers are paid by utility companies for the energy generated through their solar panels, and the subscribers of these providers receive a credit on their electricity bill based on the value generated by their community solar subscription, which can be used by landowners, nonprofits, churches and other entities.
Information on future public meetings of the Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee on Community Solar will be posted online here.
To read more about HB 1152, please click here.
Representative Beth Camp represents the citizens of District 135, which includes portions of Lamar, Pike and Upson counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves as Chairman of the Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. She also serves on the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Juvenile Justice, State Planning & Community Affairs and Ways & Means committees.
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