Southeast

Virginia

Virginia is home to a large interstate highway system, a dozen railroads, several busy commercial airports, and one of the nation’s largest seaports, making the transportation sector the state’s top energy consumer. Additionally, more than a third of the country’s coal exports are shipped through Virginia’s ports. The state has a significant coal-mining industry, but coal-fired electricity generation has been largely replaced by natural gas, and to a smaller extent, renewables.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2045

Net-zero

Governor

Glenn Youngkin (Republican)

House Party

Democratic Majority

Senate Party

Democratic Majority

Legislative session

1/10/24 - 3/9/24

Key Offices & Links

19

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 6 policy areas

See all

43

Policy Opportunities

across 7 policy areas

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Southeast

14 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Clean Energy and Renewable Portfolio Standards Empty column 100% renewable energy for Phase II Utilities by 2045 \| 100% for Phase I Utilities by 2050 Establishing Policies HB 1526 (2020) SB 851 (2020)	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2020
Not Enacted	Electricity Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets 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	Clean Energy Plans 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	Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out 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 SPOT - Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out in Virginia Policy Components not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted 0/5	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted	Net Metering 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 SPOT - Net Metering in Virginia SPOT - Aggregate Net Metering in Virginia Policy Components enacted enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted enacted enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted 6/11	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted	Shared Renewables 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 SPOT - Shared Renewables in Virginia Policy Components enacted enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted enacted 4/6	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Enacted	Community Choice Aggregation Empty column Virginia has an active community choice aggregation program. Establishing Policies SB 1269 (1999)	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation	1999
Enacted	Energy Storage Targets 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 HB 1526 (2020)	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2020
Enacted	Interconnection Standards Empty column Virginia received a C grade from Freeing the Grid. Establishing Policies Freeing the Grid Virginia Grade (2023)	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2023
Enacted	Coal Phaseouts 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 HB 1526 (2020) SB 851 (2020)	Electricity	Coal Retirement	2020
Not Enacted	Coal Plant Securitization 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

Virginia

Key Offices & Links

19

43

Southeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Virginia