                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 COMMONWEALTH CLEAN ENERGY POLICY (§ 45.2-1706.1)

A. The Commonwealth recognizes that effectively addressing climate change and
enhancing resilience will advance the health, welfare, and safety of the
residents of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth further recognizes that
addressing climate change requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the
Commonwealth&#8217;s economy sufficient to reach net-zero emission by 2045 in
all sectors, including the electric power, transportation, industrial,
agricultural, building, and infrastructure sectors. To achieve these objectives,
it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to:

   1. Develop energy resources necessary to produce 30 percent of
   Virginia&#8217;s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 and 100
   percent of Virginia&#8217;s electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040;

   2. Enable widespread integration of distributed energy resources, including
   energy storage and rooftop solar, into the grid to achieve decarbonization and
   to enhance resilience;

   3. Support the distributed generation of renewable electricity by:
   				a. Encouraging private sector investments in distributed renewable energy;
   				b. Increasing the security of the electricity grid by supporting
   distributed renewable energy projects and energy storage with the potential to
   supply electric energy to critical facilities during a widespread power
   outage; and
   				c. Enhancing the ability of private property owners to generate their own
   renewable energy for their own personal use from renewable energy sources on
   their property;

   4. Lead by example in state government by supporting the carbon-free energy
   resources required to fully decarbonize the electric power supply of the
   Commonwealth, including deploying 30 percent renewables by 2030, realizing 100
   percent carbon-free electric power by 2040, and achieving net zero emissions
   by 2045;

   5. Maximize energy efficiency programs as defined in &#xA7; 56-576, to the
   extent determined to be in the public interest, that are the lowest-cost
   energy option to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in order to produce
   electricity cost savings and to create jobs and economic opportunity from the
   energy efficiency sector;

   6. Support net-zero emission targets by promoting zero-emission vehicles and
   infrastructure, including electrified transport, decreasing the carbon
   intensity of the transportation sector, encouraging alternative transportation
   options, and increasing the efficiency of motor vehicles operating on
   Virginia&#8217;s roads;

   7. Support electric distribution grid transformation projects as defined in
   &#xA7; 56-576;

   8. Promote building and construction practices that reduce emissions
   associated with built environment, including energy efficiency targets, new
   building standards, and transit-oriented and other sustainable development
   practices; and

   9. Ensure that energy development projects avoid, minimize, and, if necessary,
   mitigate damage to the Commonwealth&#8217;s natural and cultural resources.

B. The Commonwealth recognizes the need to promote environmental justice and
ensure that it is carried out throughout the Commonwealth, as provided in §
2.2-235, and the need to address and prevent energy inequities in historically
economically disadvantaged communities, as defined in § 56-576. To achieve
these objectives, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to:

   1. Recognize the disproportionate and inequitable impacts of climate change on
   historically economically disadvantaged communities and prioritize solutions
   and investment in these communities to maximize the benefits of clean energy
   and minimize the burdens of climate change;

   2. Ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement, as those terms are
   defined in &#xA7; 2.2-234, of all people regardless of race, color, national
   origin, faith, disability, or income with respect to the administration of
   energy laws, regulations, and policies; and

   3. Increase access to clean energy and the benefits from clean energy to
   historically economically disadvantaged communities.

C. As Virginia transforms its energy economy, the Commonwealth must continue to
prioritize economic competiveness and workforce development in an equitable
manner. To achieve this objective, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth
to:

   1. Equitably incorporate requirements for technical, policy, and economic
   analyses and assessments that recognize the unique attributes of different
   energy resources and delivery systems to identify pathways to net-zero carbon
   that maximize Virginia&#8217;s energy reliability and resilience, economic
   development, and jobs;

   2. Require that pathways to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions be determined on
   the basis of technical, policy, and economic analysis to maximize their
   effectiveness, optimize Virginia&#8217;s economic development, support
   industrial employment, and create quality jobs while minimizing adverse
   impacts on public health, affected communities, and the environment;

   3. Ensure an adequate energy supply and a Virginia-based energy production
   capacity, while also optimizing intrastate and interstate use of energy supply
   and delivery to maximize energy availability, reliability, and price
   opportunities to the benefit of all user classes and the Commonwealth&#8217;s
   economy;

   4. Increase wind energy development and grow the Commonwealth&#8217;s role as
   a wind industry hub for offshore wind generation projects in state and federal
   waters off the United States coast;

   5. Ensure the availability of reliable energy at costs that are reasonable and
   in quantities that will support the Commonwealth&#8217;s economy;

   6. Ensure reliable energy availability in the event of a disruption occurring
   to a portion of the Commonwealth&#8217;s energy matrix and to address the
   needs of businesses during the transition to clean energy;

   7. Minimize the Commonwealth&#8217;s long-term exposure to volatility and
   increases in world energy prices by expanding the use of innovative clean
   energy technology within the Commonwealth;

   8. Create training opportunities and green career pathways for local workers
   and workers in historically economically disadvantaged communities in onshore
   and offshore wind, solar energy, electrification, energy efficiency, clean
   transportation, and other emerging clean energy industries;

   9. Support the repurposing and development of clean energy resources on
   previously developed project sites as defined in &#xA7; 56-576;

   10. Ensure that decision making is transparent and includes opportunities for
   full participation by the public;

   11. Explore approaches to maximizing and leveraging the capacity of lands and
   waters in the Commonwealth to store energy; and

   12. Increase the Commonwealth&#8217;s reliance on and production of
   sustainably produced biofuels made from traditional agricultural crops and
   other feedstocks, such as winter cover crops, warm season grasses,
   fast-growing trees, algae, or other suitable feedstocks grown in the
   Commonwealth, that will (i) create jobs and income, (ii) produce clean-burning
   fuels that will help to improve air quality, and (iii) provide the new markets
   for Virginia&#8217;s silvicultural and agricultural products needed to
   preserve farm employment, conserve farmland and forestland, and increase
   implementation of silvicultural and agricultural best management practices to
   protect water quality.

D. The elements of the policy set forth in subsections A, B, and C shall be
referred to collectively in this title as the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy.

E. All agencies and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, in taking
discretionary action with regard to energy issues, shall recognize the elements
of the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy and, where appropriate, shall act in a
manner consistent therewith.

F. The Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy is intended to provide guidance to the
agencies and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth in taking discretionary
action with regard to energy issues and shall not be construed to amend, repeal,
or override any contrary provision of applicable law. Nothing in this section
shall preclude reliable access to electricity and natural gas during the
transition to renewable energy. The failure or refusal of any person to
recognize the elements of the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy, to act in a
manner consistent with the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy, or to take any
other action whatsoever shall not create any right, action, or cause of action
or provide standing for any person to challenge the action of the Commonwealth
or any of its agencies or political subdivisions.

HISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 326, 327.