Virginia needs to be all-in on offshore wind. It’s a massive source of clean, renewable energy that will take us leaps and bounds forward in the fight against climate change. Offshore wind energy will replace 2.7 gigawatts of fossil fuel energy – meaning less dependence on the volatile gas markets and less pollution in the air we breathe. Offshore wind is essential for Virginia’s transition to clean, renewable energy.

Unfortunately, offshore wind doesn’t get its due in Governor Youngkin’s “All-of-the-Above” Energy Plan. Virginia’s Energy Plan, released every four years, lays out the new Governor’s vision for the Commonwealth’s energy future. Virginia’s law requires for it to be a forward-looking plan to reach zero-carbon energy within the next 10 years.

Youngkin’s Energy Plan misses the mark. It’s not “all of the above.” Despite bi-partisan support for offshore wind up and down the coast, the Energy Plan only mentions offshore wind development once and discounts the cost savings and environmental and economic benefits of clean, renewable energy overall.

Offshore Wind is Fueling Virginia’s Economy.

The benefits of the Virginia Coastal Offshore Wind Project, the proposal to bring 5200-megawatts of energy just 26 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, could not be more clear. It will propel us towards our clean energy future while building up Virginia’s coastal economy. By law, offshore wind development prioritizes local labor, meaning that the jobs building Virginia energy production will be done by Virginians. The project is expected to create up to 13,000 clean energy jobs per year between now and 2050.

As the largest offshore wind project in the US, Virginia is securing much of the wind development supply chain locally by incentivizing rapid development of wind turbine manufacturing, port infrastructure, and high-paying technical careers. Already the offshore wind supply chain is driving $13 million in economic activity at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal and could lead to more than $20 million in infrastructure upgrades.

As this project moves its way through the regulatory process, the Governor should spotlight the economic and clean energy opportunities of offshore wind – not relegate it to a footnote in the Virginia Energy Plan.

The 2022 Virginia Energy Plan is Taking Our Energy Progress Backwards.

Rather than focusing on opportunities to bring to scale the proven technologies of today such as offshore wind energy, solar energy, and battery storage, Youngkin proposes to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on expensive, underdeveloped, and untested technologies including small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).

The whole point of the Virginia Energy Plan is to transition to a clean, carbon-free, and affordable electric grid. So why does Youngin ignore cost-effective renewable energy to start from scratch with the development of SMRs?

Let’s Remind Ourselves: the Virginia General Assembly makes energy policy, not the Governor.

The good news is the energy plan is simply ideas on paper – it is the General Assembly that makes the law. In 2020, the legislature passed  the Virginia Clean Economy Act, putting together a clear path for Virginia to reach a carbon-free electric grid by 2050 with offshore wind energy being a key piece of that energy mix.

Renewable energy is the cleanest, most affordable way to produce energy. Virginians cannot afford to put today’s clean energy solutions on hold. If the Governor wants to cut household energy costs, grow our economy, and create jobs then he should join us on being all-in on offshore wind energy.