                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

(EFFECTIVE UNTIL JULY 1, 2029) POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE AUTHORITY (§ 45.2-1720)

In addition to the other powers and duties established under this article, the
Authority has the power and duty to:

1. Adopt, use, and alter at will an official seal;

2. Make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs;

3. Maintain an office at any place within the Commonwealth it designates;

4. Accept, hold, and administer moneys, grants, securities, or other property
transferred, given, or bequeathed to the Authority, absolutely or in trust, from
any source, public or private, for the purposes for which the Authority is
established;

5. Make and execute contracts and all other instruments and agreements necessary
or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions, including executing
contracts and all other instruments and agreements that the Authority deems
necessary with the nonprofit collaborative;

6. Employ, in its discretion, consultants, attorneys, architects, engineers,
accountants, financial experts, investment bankers, superintendents, managers,
and any other employees and agents necessary and fix their compensation to be
payable from funds made available to the Authority;

7. Invest its funds as permitted by applicable law;

8. Receive and accept from any federal or private agency, foundation,
corporation, association, or person grants, donations of money, or real or
personal property for the benefit of the Authority, and receive and accept from
the Commonwealth or any other state, from any municipality, county, or other
political subdivision thereof, or from any other source, aid or contributions of
either money, property, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied
for the purposes for which such grants and contributions may be made;

9. Enter into agreements with any department, agency, or instrumentality of the
United States or of the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and with
lenders and enter into loans with contracting parties for the purpose of
conducting research and development, energy project development, and planning,
regulating, and providing for the financing or leasing or assisting in the
financing or leasing of any project;

10. Do any lawful act necessary or appropriate to carry out the powers granted
or reasonably implied in this article;

11. Leverage the strength in energy workforce and energy technology research and
development of the Commonwealth&#8217;s public and private institutions of
higher education;

12. Support energy development projects generally, including pump storage
hydropower, energy storage, hydrogen production and uses, carbon capture and
storage, geothermal energy, and advanced wind and solar energy;

13. Promote energy development projects on closed power plant sites, brownfield
sites, former coal mine sites, reclaimed coal mine sites, abandoned mine lands,
and lands adjacent thereto;

14. Promote energy workforce development and energy supply chain development;

15. Assist energy technology research and development by, among other actions,
promoting the development of a Southwest Virginia Energy Park;

16. Identify and work with the Commonwealth&#8217;s industries and nonprofit
partners and, through mutually agreed collaborations, the Commonwealth&#8217;s
research and development partners, in advancing efforts related to energy
development in Southwest Virginia; and

17. Promote the capture and beneficial use of coal mine methane from active,
inactive, and abandoned coal mines as a low-carbon intensity feedstock for
manufacturing and energy generation projects located in Southwest Virginia.

HISTORY: 2019, cc. 555, 556, § 67-1603; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387; 2023, cc.
720, 721.