Spanberger Administration Seeks Public Input on New Energy Plan

Every four years, Virginia law requires the governor’s administration to develop a new energy plan outlining the commonwealth’s energy needs and how the state intends to meet its power generation goals.

Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Carrie Chenery and Department of Energy representatives have been hosting invite-only stakeholder meetings across the state to gather input on how the administration can shape its policies and how Virginia can meet its net-zero clean energy mark.

“It’s really just designed to basically provide a 10-year roadmap looking at how we’re going to hit the 2045 net zero (goals) across all sectors,” Allmond said.

A public meeting will be held in Petersburg on Aug. 3 at the public library at 5:30 pm. Comments submitted at the meeting, along with responses gathered through an online survey, will be considered as the administration drafts the plan.

“But our energy future should not — must not — just be written in Richmond,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a news release. “I want to hear from Virginians across every corner of the commonwealth, and I encourage everyone who pays an energy bill in Virginia to make their voice heard.”

In addition to public input, the governor’s plan is developed in consultation with the State Corporation Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality and other state agencies.

Spanberger is aiming to address high energy costs as demand for power continues to grow across the commonwealth. She has touted an “all of the above” energy strategy that includes renewable sources such as solar and wind, while also expressing interest in small modular reactors and maintaining fossil fuel sources when needed.

To offset carbon emissions from natural gas generation, Spanberger pushed for and secured Virginia’s return to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state carbon allowance auction.

Unlike the Integrated Resource Plan that utilities must submit to the SCC outlining how they intend to build enough infrastructure to meet projected demand, the governor’s plan offers more flexibility in determining how to achieve the net-zero target established in state law, Allmond said.

Under the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the state’s major utilities are also mandated to retire their carbon-emitting power sources by 2050, with some exceptions to maintain grid reliability.

“The IRP is not strictly on getting to net zero by 2045. There’s still work arounds in the Clean Economy Act, and so they’ve been relying on that reliability exception,” Allmond said. “That doesn’t really exist here, and so, this is really showing ways to get to net zero.”

The final report on the 2026 energy plan will be released Oct. 1.

by Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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