Welcome to Virginia Conservation Network’s Wrap-Up of the 2021 General Assembly, Part 3: Clean Energy and Good Government. During this year’s virtual session VCN tracked 158 pieces of legislation and took a position on 82 bills. Of the 78 bills which VCN supported, we’re excited to see 61 of them head to the Governor’s desk to be signed! To see the status of all of VCN’s tracked legislation, see our updated Bill Tracker.
Power Plant Transparency
HB1834 (Subramanyam) & SB1247 (Deeds)
Both HB1834 & SB1247 passed this year. These bills increase transparency for power plant closures and are part of an effort to minimize community impacts from these closures. The legislation originally required power plant owners to review whether the carbon-emitting plants should be retired every 18 months and give a notice to state and local leaders within 14 days of the decision to retire. The legislation was amended so that the analysis is done every 3 years as a part of the integrated resource planning process of investor-owned utilities, and notice of closure must be given within 30 days of an owner of an electric generating facility making public the decision to close such facility. We thank Appalachian Voices for their advocacy!
(Somewhat) improving building standards for energy efficiency
HB2001 (Helmer), HB2227 (Kory), & SB1224 (Boysko)
Improving new construction energy efficiency standards is crucial to ensure savings on energy bills for building owners, reduced demand for energy generation, reduced carbon emissions and resulting impacts of climate change in the Commonwealth, and reduced need for utilities and the General Assembly to subsidize retrofits of inefficient buildings in the future.
The Sierra Club of Virginia led advocacy on two bills from Delegate Kory and Senator Boysko to bring Virginia’s current building code up to national standards from the Uniform Statewide Building Code. While matching national standards may seem like an easy ask, these bills struggled to make their way through the General Assembly. Senator Boysko’s Senate bill never got a hearing and Delegate Kory’s bill was heavily amended to merely require the Housing Board to consider adopting building codes from the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
Delegate Helmer’s bill proposed updated building codes which require state and local government buildings to be constructed or renovated to include electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the capability of tracking energy efficiency and carbon emissions. Thank you to Drive Electric RVA for their advocacy!
Funding and Financing Clean Energy
HB1859 (Guy), HB1919 (Kory), HB1925 (Kilgore), HB2330 (Kory), (HB2034 Hurst), SB1420 (Edwards), & HB2148 (Willett)
Strong incentives for clean energy investment are critical for local workforce development and meeting our clean energy goals. This session saw a mixed bag of results for clean energy funding and financing:
Delegate Guy’s HB1859 amended last year’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) loan legislation to include projects from the previous 2 years, but explicitly excluded residential properties of less than 5 units (single family homes, duplexes, and small condominiums).
Through Delegate Kory’s HB1919, local authorities can now establish local Green Banks, which are important financing mechanisms to create jobs in low- to moderate-income communities that otherwise might not receive financing for clean energy and energy efficiency. Notably, with the passage of this bill Virginia may receive federal funding for green bank seed money grants, which President Biden has indicated he supports.
The Brightfields Act (HB1925) establishes the Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund which could award grants up to $35 million/year on a competitive basis to support wind, solar, or geothermal projects sited on formerly mined lands or brownfields. However, this bill explicitly states that no allocation of grant funds shall be made unless federal funds are available.
The SCC asked legislators to clarify language on last year’s legislation to establish the Percentage of Payment Program (PIPP) under the Virginia Clean Economy Act. PIPP limits electric bills for low income ratepayers and establishes energy efficiency programs. Delegate Kory’s HB2330 clarified language, eased legislative obstacles, and lowered barriers for participation in the program.
Simply increasing access to renewable energy can enable cheaper energy options for consumers. Delegate Hurst and Senator Edwards passed legislation (HB2034 + SB1420) to extend solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) availability in SW Virginia, which include municipalities and public schools. PPAs are a solar project funding mechanism which allows schools and governments to choose affordable, clean energy options from third-party providers. This opportunity already exists explicitly for schools and municipal customers in Dominion territory, and so this legislation ensures consistent policy throughout the Commonwealth.
Delegate Willett’s HB2148 makes energy storage and hybrid projects more feasible by streamlining project approval requirements. With this legislation, energy storage projects are expected to produce over $3 billion in investment over the next 15 years, boosting workforce development in Virginia.
We’d like to thank multiple Partners for their advocacy on this year’s clean energy legislation, including Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Appalachian Voices, Virginia League of Conservation Voters, and Sierra Club Virginia Chapter.
Establishing a commitment to address climate change
SB1284 (Favola), HB1855 (Sullivan), SB1282 (Morrissey), & SB1374 (Lewis)
Last year, legislators passed legislation to signal support for mitigating climate change through clean energy, most notably through the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Governor’s Executive Order #43. VA continued to make progress on our climate and energy goals this past session.
For starters, Senator Favola passed legislation which streamlines language and changes the name of the Commonwealth Energy Policy to the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy. While legislation passed last year to overhaul the CEP, this year’s bill shows that the Northam Administration and legislators are fully on board with clean energy policy. The Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy also got a name change through Delegate Sullivan’s HB1855, and is now named the Virginia Department of Energy.
Several studies and groups were also established so that our legislators can determine the best way to reduce our carbon emissions. The DEQ will develop a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions inventory to be updated and published every 4 years, with oversight given to the State Air Pollution Control Board to help develop the inventory. A Carbon Sequestration Task Force has also been established to review methods and set goals to sequester carbon in our natural environment.
Environmental Justice Omnibus Bill
HB2074 (Simonds) and SB1318 (Hashmi)
The intent of the omnibus Environmental Justice bill spearheaded by the Environmental Justice Collaborative with Delegate Simonds and Senator Hashmi was to build on the Virginia Environmental Justice Act of 2020. The benefits and burdens of agencies’ environmental activities remain unequal among Virginians along lines of race, income, and geography. This bill sought to redress this inequity by requiring government agencies at the state and local level to take specific actions to advance environmental justice. The Senate counterpart codified the supporting Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group. Although both bills were the subject of much debate and had several amendments, in the final hours of the special session, these bills died in conference with the house and senate remaining far apart on EJ policy. We are disappointed to see the General Assembly fail to make any gains.
Profit over People from the Senate Commerce and Labor on Utility Rate Reform
HB1914 (Helmer), HB1984 (Hudson), HB2049 (Bourne), HB2200 (Jones), HB2160 (Tran), SB1292 (McClellan)
This important series of bills aimed to lower ratepayers bills, allow refunds of overcharges, and restore the SCC’s oversight to set fair rates. These bills were crucial in order to refund Virginians the $500 million we’ve been overcharged by Dominion Energy since 2017 and ensure that regulators would be able to lower our electric bills to avoid future overcharges. Despite support from the House and strong advocacy from the conservation and clean energy community, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee were more concerned about hurting Dominion’s profits than protecting ratepayers from overcharges and rejected these bills.
We are extremely disappointed to see these bills fail in the Senate committee after bi-partisan support in the House. We are committed to continuing our work toward a fair and affordable electricity rate structure as we move forward on our path towards a 100% clean electricity grid. Thank you to our Partners at Clean Virginia, Southern Environmental Law Center and others for continued advocacy on this important issue.