Governor Glenn Youngkin will soon consider a handful of bills aimed at transforming electricity generation.
The Clean Economy Act was signed into law five years ago with a lofty goal for Virginia – all electricity generation must come entirely from carbon-free sources by the year 2050. Governor Glenn Youngkin began the General Assembly session last month by suggesting that was a goal that should be abandoned.
"Let's work together this session to unlock all of the above and unravel the quagmire that is the Virginia Clean Economy Act," the governor said.
It was an applause line for Republicans. But Democrats remained in their seats and got to work, crafting a handful of bills aimed at figuring out ways to go carbon free. Here's Delegate Rip Sullivan, a Democrat from Fairfax County who wrote the Clean Economy Act.
"Bills to turbocharge Virginia's energy storage efforts, to expand rooftop solar, to study and implement virtual power plant technologies, to support comprehensive utility planning for transmission and distribution and to allow urban and suburban localities to put solar over parking lots," Sullivan says. "All of these will, yes, help us all do our part to get us where we need to be."
Many, if not all, of those bills are likely to be vetoed by the governor. But Democrats say they plan on raising those issues on the campaign trail later this year.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
