Virginia
Governor
Glenn Youngkin (Republican)
House Party
Democratic Majority
Senate Party
Democratic Majority
Key Offices & Links
22
45
Southeast
Progress by Policy Area
- Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
- In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
- Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
- Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Virginia
Climate Policies in Virginia
| Status | Policy | Policy Area | Policy Category | Year Enacted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enacted |
Empty column
100% renewable energy for Phase II Utilities by 2045 | 100% for Phase I Utilities by 2050 The state has a target to develop energy resources necessary to produce 30% of Virginia's electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 and 100% of Virginia's electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Energy Plans and Targets | 2020 | |
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year. |
Electricity
|
Energy Plans and Targets | ||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
Clean energy plans are documents that outline the policies and strategies states can implement to meet clean energy targets. Draft plans are often published first, and after a period of public comments and revisions, a final plan is released. |
Electricity
|
Energy Plans and Targets | ||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
States can establish some form of statewide, consolidated siting and permitting entity — typically a council or board — for renewables and/or transmission to streamline project review and prevent uncertainty in the face of local governments’ restrictions or prohibitions of renewable generation or transmission. |
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | ||
| Enacted |
Empty column
Virginia received a C grade from Freeing the Grid. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | 2023 | |
| Enacted |
Empty column
Electric utilities must include an assessment of the potential application of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and advanced conductors in their integrated resource plans (IRPs), or a detailed explanation of why such technologies or conductors are not included in the IRP. The State Corporation Commission must consider the use of GETs (namely, advanced conductors) when evaluating applications for constructing transmission lines of 138 kilovolts or more, to improve the reliability and efficiency of the state’s transmission network. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | 2025 | |
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Policy Components
6/11
|
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | ||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Policy Components
4/6
|
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | ||
| Enacted |
Empty column
Virginia has an active community choice aggregation program. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | 1999 | |
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Policy Components
0/5
|
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | ||
| Enacted |
Empty column
3,100 megawatts (MW) of energy storage capacity by 2035 from the state's two investor-owned utilities (2,700 MW for Dominion and 400 MW for Appalachian Power Company). 10% of projects must be deployed behind the meter, and 35% of capacity must be owned by non-utility entities. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | 2020 | |
| Enacted |
Empty column
Requires 100% renewable energy by 2045 or 2050, depending on the type of electric utility, and does not include energy derived from coal in its definition of renewable electricity. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Coal Retirement | 2020 | |
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers. |
Electricity
|
Coal Retirement |