A bill introduced by State Sen. Jeremy S. McPike seeks to clarify how battery storage projects are handled when paired with solar facilities, aiming to streamline local approval processes, the Virginia State Senate reports.
The legislation, known as SB443, was introduced on Jan. 14, 2026, during the 2026 regular session. Its formal description is: “Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities.”
The following summary is based on a review of the bill text and contains explanations to clarify its main provisions.
Essentially, the bill allows battery energy storage projects as an accessory use on parcels with a special exception for a solar facility, provided the batteries are located within the same parcel. This eliminates the need for additional special exceptions or local land use approvals for the storage project. The legislation also maintains existing solar siting agreement terms and tax benefits, requires compliance with safety, fire and environmental regulations, and retains local enforcement powers. In addition, battery storage projects with interconnection requests submitted prior to July 1, 2030, will be subject to local ordinances in effect as of July 1, 2026, as amended by this bill.
Primary sponsors include Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (Democrat-29th District) and Sen. Angelia Williams Graves (Democrat-21st District).
So far this session, McPike has introduced 20 additional bills.
McPike earned a BA from George Mason University in 1997.
A Democrat, McPike was first elected to the Virginia State Senate in 2016 for the 29th district, succeeding Charles Colgan.
In Virginia, the law-making process starts with a bill being introduced in either the Senate or the House of Delegates. The bill is assigned to one or more committees for review, discussion, and possible amendments. If the committee approves the bill, it then goes to the floor for debate and voting in both legislative chambers. If both chambers pass it, the bill is sent to the governor, who can sign it into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. The Virginia General Assembly meets every year in regular session beginning on the second Monday in January. Lawmakers file hundreds of bills each session, with only a fraction becoming law.
| Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy S. McPike and Angelia Williams Graves | SB443 | 01/14/2026 | Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Barbara A. Favola, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Russet Perry, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB74 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Christie New Craig | SB122 | 01/14/2026 | School boards; student diabetes care & management in schools, division wide plan required. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Russet Perry | SB138 | 01/14/2026 | PFAS monitoring; DEQ to require for industrial wastewater source, publicly owned treatment works. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB139 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for long-term capital gains from sale of principal residence. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB140 | 01/14/2026 | Fire Programs, Department of; development of mental health awareness training. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB148 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for tax, military retirement benefits, uniformed services. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB149 | 01/14/2026 | State-facilitated IRA savings program; various changes to the program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Bill DeSteph | SB164 | 01/14/2026 | Health insurance; ethics and fairness in carrier business practices, downcoded claims. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB165 | 01/14/2026 | Contracts; retainage bonds permitted in construction contracts, effective clause. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB166 | 01/14/2026 | Insurance; contingent deferred annuities, nonforfeiture benefits. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB170 | 01/14/2026 | Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB256 | 01/14/2026 | Appliance minimum energy and water conservation standards; requirement of manufacturers. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB321 | 01/14/2026 | Abandonment of highway; section of the secondary state highway system, local authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB324 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB326 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; cooperative procurement. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Kannan Srinivasan | SB371 | 01/14/2026 | Electric utilities; electric demand flexibility programs, high energy demand customers, report. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Angelia Williams Graves, Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Kannan Srinivasan, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB388 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; religious organizations and other nonprofit tax-exempt properties. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Adam P. Ebbin, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Saddam Azlan Salim, and Scott A. Surovell | SB446 | 01/14/2026 | Limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards, and permits; validity periods for documents. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB487 | 01/14/2026 | Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB591 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; free tax filing program for individuals |
Information in this article comes from the Virginia State Senate. The original source data is available here.
