                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 DEVELOPMENT OF THE VIRGINIA ENERGY PLAN (§ 45.2-1710)

A. The Division, in consultation with the State Corporation Commission, the
Department of Environmental Quality, the Clean Energy Advisory Board, the solar,
wind, energy efficiency, and transportation electrification sectors, and a
stakeholder group that includes representatives of consumer, environmental,
manufacturing, forestry, and agricultural organizations and natural gas and
electric utilities, shall prepare a comprehensive Virginia Energy Plan (the
Plan) that identifies actions over a 10-year period consistent with the goal of
the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy set forth in &#xA7; 45.2-1706.1 to achieve,
no later than 2045, a net-zero carbon energy economy for all sectors, including
the electricity, transportation, building, agricultural, and industrial sectors.
The Plan shall propose actions, consistent with the objectives enumerated in
&#xA7; 45.2-1706.1, that will implement the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy set
forth in &#xA7; 45.2-1706.1.

B. In addition, the Plan shall include:

   1. Projections of energy consumption in the Commonwealth, including the use of
   fuel sources and costs of electricity, natural gas, gasoline, coal, renewable
   resources, and other forms of non-greenhouse-gas-generating energy resources,
   such as nuclear power, used in the Commonwealth;

   2. An analysis of the adequacy of electricity generation, transmission, and
   distribution resources in the Commonwealth for the natural gas and electric
   industries, and how distributed energy resources and regional generation,
   transmission, and distribution resources affect the Commonwealth;

   3. An analysis of siting requirements for electric generation resources and
   natural gas and electric transmission and distribution resources, including an
   assessment of state and local impediments to expanded use of distributed
   resources and recommendations to reduce or eliminate such impediments;

   4. An analysis of fuel diversity for electricity generation, recognizing the
   importance of flexibility in meeting future capacity needs;

   5. An analysis of the efficient use of energy resources and conservation
   initiatives;

   6. An analysis of how such Virginia-specific issues relate to regional
   initiatives to ensure the adequacy of fuel production, generation,
   transmission, and distribution assets;

   7. An analysis of the siting of energy resource development, refining, and
   transmission facilities to identify any disproportionate adverse impact of
   such activities on economically disadvantaged or minority communities;

   8. With regard to any regulations proposed or adopted by the U.S.
   Environmental Protection Agency to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil
   fuel-fired electric generating units under &#xA7; 111(d) of the federal Clean
   Air Act, 42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 7411(d), an analysis of (i) the costs to and
   benefits for energy producers and electric utility customers, (ii) the effect
   on energy markets and reliability, and (iii) the commercial availability of
   technology required to comply with such regulations;

   9. An inventory of greenhouse gas emissions compiled using a method determined
   by the Department of Environmental Quality for the four years prior to the
   issuance of the Plan;

   10. Data regarding the number and type of electric and hybrid electric
   vehicles currently registered in the Commonwealth; projections of future
   electric vehicle sales across all vehicle classes, taking into consideration
   the impact of current and potential statewide policies; and analysis of the
   impact that the growth of electrified transit on the Commonwealth&#8217;s
   electric system;

   11. An analysis of the Commonwealth&#8217;s current electric vehicle charging
   infrastructure and all future infrastructure needed to support the 2045
   net-zero carbon target in the transportation sector, including chargers,
   make-ready electrical equipment, and supporting hardware and software needed
   to support the electrification of all vehicle categories used on and off roads
   and highways, including light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and
   electric bicycles, as well as that needed to electrify ground transportation
   at all ports and airports, with particular attention to the needs of
   historically economically disadvantaged communities as defined in &#xA7;
   56-576 and any state or local impediments to deployment; and

   12. Recommendations, based on the analyses completed under subdivisions 1
   through 11, for legislative, regulatory, and other public and private actions
   to implement the elements of the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy.

C. In preparing the Plan, the Division and other agencies involved in the
planning process shall utilize state geographic information systems, to the
extent deemed practicable, to assess how recommendations in the Plan may affect
pristine natural areas and other significant onshore natural resources.
Effective October 1, 2024, interim updates on the Plan shall also contain
projections for greenhouse gas emissions that would result from implementation
of the Plan&#8217;s recommendations.

D. In preparing the Plan, the Division and other agencies involved in the
planning process shall develop a system for assigning numerical scores to any
parcel of real property based on the extent to which such parcel is suitable for
the siting of a wind energy facility or solar energy facility. For a wind energy
facility, the scoring system shall address the wind velocity, sustained
velocity, and turbulence. For either a wind energy facility or a solar energy
facility, the scoring system shall address the parcel&#8217;s proximity to
electric power transmission lines or systems, potential impacts of such a
facility to natural and historic resources and to economically disadvantaged or
minority communities, and compatibility with the local land use plan. The system
developed pursuant to this section shall allow the suitability of the parcel for
the siting of a wind energy or solar energy facility to be compared to the
suitability of other parcels so scored, and shall be based on a scale that
allows the suitability of the parcel for the siting of such a facility to be
measured against the hypothetical score of an ideal location for such a
facility.

E. Upon receipt by the Division of a recommendation from the Department of
General Services, a local governing body, or the parcel&#8217;s owner stating
that a parcel of real property is a potentially suitable location for a wind
energy facility or solar energy facility, the Division shall analyze the
suitability of the parcel for the location of such a facility. In conducting its
analysis, the Division shall ascribe a numerical score to the parcel using the
scoring system developed pursuant to subsection D.

HISTORY: 2006, c. 939, § 67-201; 2014, cc. 603, 756; 2020, cc. 1191, 1192;
2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 326, 327, 387.