Bill of the Day: Community Access to Renewable Energy (CARE) Act
Warrenton at Sunset. Image Credit: Hugh Kenny
Why Should Virginians CARE about the Community Access to Renewable Energy Package?
We need to use reliable clean energy to meet Virginia’s energy demand. Relying on large, expensive fossil fuel power plants will continue releasing harmful climate pollutants into our air. Pollutants from burning fossil fuels cause significant health problems, including asthma, heart disease, lung disease, and even cancer.
The Community Access to Renewable Energy (CARE) Package increases the amount of local, community energy which will reduce fossil fuel pollution, lower energy bills, and create clean energy jobs. Investing in local, clean energy will accelerate the transition to clean energy, reducing carbon pollution that is harming our air and leaving a better future for our children and grandchildren.
Several pieces of legislation proposed in the General Assembly this year can increase access to local, community energy across the Commonwealth. You can take a deeper dive into increasing access to local, community energy in Our Common Agenda. To learn more, read our “Maximizing the Role of Distributed Energy Resources” policy paper.
Community Energy Bills to Support in the General Assembly
Legislators have introduced the CARE Package of three bills that work together to reduce the barriers to building local solar projects:
(Delegate Katrina Callsen/Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg) Increases the amount of solar that can be built on rooftops and previously disturbed lands and streamlines the process to bring local solar to our grid.
(Delegate Phil Hernandez/Senator Ghazala Hashmi) Establishes a virtual power program to meet peak power demand with clean energy instead of polluting power plants.
(Delegate Candi Mundon-King/Senator Aaron Rouse) Creates an apprenticeship program to provide training and ensure clean energy jobs are good paying jobs.
Take Action
Use Chesapeake Climate Action Fund’s action alert to send a pre-written email urging your legislator to support the CARE Package by voting yes on HB 1883/SB 1040, HB 2346/SB 1100, and HB 2356/SB 853.