The Virginia Conservation Network tracked over 300 pieces of legislation and took a position on 118 bills this session. To see the status of all of VCN’s tracked legislation and the policy outcomes, see our updated Bill Tracker.

VCN took a position on 38 bills dealing with climate or clean energy policy this session, supporting 19 policies to advance our climate goals and initially opposing 19 bills that would slow our transition to a 100% clean energy grid. By the end of session, the Network:

• Changed our position from “oppose” to “neutral” on 15 bills after Partners successfully amended bad bills
• Defeated 8 opposed bills
• Passed 3 supported bills

The bill to repeal RGGI (SB1001) – the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – died quickly in the Senate. And for good reason: this pollution reduction program drives down greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and public health while also bringing in desperately needed revenue to help Virginia’s families with energy bills and flood protection.

Despite the clear benefits of RGGI and affirmation of the policy through our legislative process, the Youngkin Administration continues efforts to withdraw Virginia from the initiative. Want to help keep Virginia in RGGI? Submit a comment to the Commonwealth’s Air Pollution Control Board by March 31st.

The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) is ‘transitioning Virginia’s energy mix to a low-cost, reliable, carbon-free grid by 2050. The policy – passed in 2020 – both reduces the power sector’s extensive pollution burden and spurs innovation and economic growth. 

VCN opposed over a dozen bills that attempted to roll back our climate progress. Ultimately, our Network successfully amended or defeated bills that would have weakened the VCEA itself or increased Virginia’s dependence on fossil fuels by:

• Classifying coal mine methane as renewable energy
• Exempting “energy-intensive trade-exposed industries” from paying for the transition to a clean energy economy
• Prohibiting the state and localities from 100% electric new building construction, slowing the Commonwealth’s transition away from gas infrastructure
• Removing the requirement to retire biomass-fired facilities by December 31, 2028.
• Delaying retirement requirements for fossil fuel power plants  
• Require the development of 3 small nuclear reactor pilot projects, an unproven and costly technology, to be fully funded by ratepayers
• Defining hydrogen derived from fossil fuels as renewable energy 

Thank you to our Partners at SELC, Climate Cabinet, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Appalachian Voices, Sierra Club, and many others for protecting Virginia’s climate progress!

Senator Hashmi addresses the crowd at our Conservation Lobby Day.

The Affordable Energy Act (HB1604/SB1321) is bipartisan legislation to restore the historic regulatory authority of the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to adjust utility companies’ electricity rates when customers are being overcharged – and is on its way to becoming law!

Virginians’ electric bills no longer reflect the actual cost of producing and distributing electricity to customers. The SCC reports that Dominion’s current rates overcharged customers by $152.1 million in 2021 alone. Since 2009, Dominion has overcharged customers by at least $1.9 billion.

With the passage of these bills, the SCC can reduce or eliminate these overcharges. See our Partners’ statements on the passage of the Affordable Energy Act here.

Dominion’s bills (HB1770/SB1265), also referred to as the “Dominion shareholder” or “cash-grab” bill, were originally opposed by the Network. After serious negotiations and compromises, our Partners moved our position to “neutral” on the last day of session after positive amendments, and the bills ultimately passed.

These bills changed significantly over the course of the session. In its original form, VCN opposed language that would have:

• Increased return on equity, leading to an additional $2 billion in Dominion’s profit by 2040, according to the SCC
• Undermined the Virginia Clean Economy Act by reversing agreed-upon retirement dates for fossil fuel-generating power plants.
• Deprived the SCC of fairly regulating Dominion’s profit margins

As passed, the bills were positively amended to:

• Restore power to the SCC to set Dominion’s profit margin at its discretion
• Roll $350 million worth of rate adjustment clauses into base rates, resulting in lower monthly utility bills for all Virginians
• Remove language that alters the retirement dates for fossil fuel-generating power plants set by the Virginia Clean Economy Act

The bill prohibiting public utility monopolies from contributing to political campaigns was – once again – defeated by the Senate Privileges & Elections Committee. The silver lining? Our Network has supported this bill for years without luck, but this session, we saw more support for the bill than in years past. We will continue to work with our Partners to lower Dominion’s financial and political influence on our elected officials.

Thank you to Clean Virginia for your leadership on these issues!

Installing more solar is critical for Virginia to hit our 100% clean energy targets outlined in the Virginia Clean Economy Act, but many policy barriers in place hinder rooftop and distributed solar options for Virginians. Unfortunately, the House defeated a series of bills that would have:

• Developed recommendations for schools to be solar-ready when constructing or renovating buildings
• Expanded shared solar programs in Dominion Energy, Appalachian Power, and Old Dominion Power territory
• Empowered the Clean Energy Advisory Board to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds to advance solar projects

We will continue to work with our Partners at Southern Environmental Law Center, the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, and Chesapeake Climate Action Network to advance strong distributed solar policies.

See policy reviews for our other issues areas from the 2023 General Assembly session below: