{"id":388782,"date":"2025-07-14T19:29:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=388782"},"modified":"2025-07-14T19:29:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:29:24","slug":"virginia-green-energy-mandates-an-impending-train-wreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=388782","title":{"rendered":"Virginia green energy mandates\u2014an \u2018impending train wreck\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Kevin Mooney<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Youngkin offers up nuclear power as an innovative solution in the run-up to the November election<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican incumbent in Virginia, warns that the Virginia Clean Economy Act<\/a> (VCEA) will drastically raise utility rates due to its overreliance on \u201cgreen energy.\u201d Unless the Virginia General Assembly steps in to lighten the regulatory load in the energy sector, an \u201cimpending train wreck\u201d in the form of rising utility bills will remain in motion, according to a statement from the commonwealth\u2019s energy director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin points to the VCEA\u2014enacted under his predecessor in 2020\u2014as the primary culprit behind projected increases in utility bills. Known as the \u201cVirginia Green New Deal,\u201d the VCEA is laced with green energy mandates that are expected to become more costly in the absence of Youngkin\u2019s veto pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Virginia Power Grid Hangs in the Balance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s still time for Virginia to cut a different path in line with Youngkin\u2019s \u201call-of-the-above\u201d approach to energy policy, which includes nuclear power. Glenn Davis, the Virginia Department of Energy director, points to the Commonwealth Fusion System\u2019s (CFS) planned commercial fusion plant at the James River Industrial Park as a prime example<\/a> of the kind of initiatives policymakers should pursue. The CFS plant is poised to become the first grid-scale commercial fusion power outfit of its kind anywhere in the world. In an exclusive statement to Restoration News<\/em>, Davis said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Virginia is leading the way in energy innovation, especially nuclear, as the home to the world\u2019s first commercial fusion reactor. This plant is just one piece of a much larger energy plan to meet the 6.5% growth in demand Virginia is expecting as we continue to see a soaring increase in jobs and investment. Fusion has been talked about for generations and now is becoming a reality, right here in Virginia, with not only a plant but also an innovation hub. Under Governor Youngkin\u2019s leadership, Virginia has embraced all-American, all-of-the-above power and is front and center in an energy and power renaissance that will power the Commonwealth with safe, secure, reliable, and affordable energy for years to come. Unfortunately, while the Youngkin administration has been working arduously to give Virginians relief on their energy bills, the Virginia Clean Economy Act is about to cause utility bills to skyrocket, with a projected compliance cost exceeding $5 billion over the next ten years, beginning with bill increases this September. For four years, Governor Youngkin has warned of this impending train wreck, but General Assembly Democrats have refused to address it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The outcome of this year\u2019s gubernatorial race will likely determine the trajectory of energy costs for Virginia residents. That\u2019s because Abigail Spanberger has a history of supporting Green New Deal-type policies\u2014that was evident during her time in Congress. Her voting record<\/a> shows she supported extending a moratorium on drilling off Virginia\u2019s coast. Spanberger also voted against prohibiting bans on gas stoves and gas-powered cars, and she opposed ordering the government to issue all federal permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which runs through Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Democratic candidate for governor, Spanberger has also expressed support<\/a> for having Virginia rejoin a carbon tax scheme known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,<\/a> or RGGI. By contrast, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, her Republican opponent, supported Youngkin\u2019s decision to withdraw from RGGI. Earle-Sears is also running on a platform<\/a> of lowering living costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen D. Haner, a senior fellow for environment and energy policy at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy<\/a>, expects an almost 50% increase for Virginia ratepayers<\/strong> within the next two years. Haner bases this forecast on an analysis of the rate increase applications Dominion Energy\u2014the Virginia public utility\u2014submitted earlier this year to the State Corporation Commission, the regulatory authority overseeing utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1,000-kilowatt hour monthly bill was about $116 just before VCEA was implemented. Haner expects pending price increases to take this amount to about $170 in 2027, with VCEA compliance costs the biggest component of this increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From here, the news gets even worse as Haner envisions a scenario where Virginia experiences power blackouts. PJM, the regional trading entity, issued a statement in its \u201cSummer Outlook 2025\u201d document<\/a> of particular concern to energy policy analysts. The current season marks the first time that available generation capacity may fall short of required reserves in an extreme planning scenario that would result in an all-time PJM peak load of more than 166,000 MW, according to the PJM statement. Put another way, the VCEA mandates on wind and solar could further strain a power grid that is already under stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuclear power could be part of the solution. Virginia already has the Surry Nuclear Power Station located in southeastern Virginia, on the south bank of the James River across from Jamestown, and the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin is set to leave office in January, since the Virginia governor is limited to just one consecutive term under state law. He has been a consistent opponent of the VCEA and is pursuing court action to keep Virginia out of RGGI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates continuing to refuse to take action, the approaching gubernatorial race could decide the fate of the power grid in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at Restoration News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican incumbent in Virginia, warns that the\u00a0Virginia Clean Economy Act\u00a0(VCEA) will drastically raise utility rates due to its overreliance on \u201cgreen energy.\u201d Unless the Virginia General Assembly steps in to lighten the regulatory load in the energy sector, an \u201cimpending train wreck\u201d in the form of rising utility bills will remain in motion, according to a statement from the commonwealth\u2019s energy director.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":388787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691836590,691818118,691836591,691818206,691818580,691818417,691836589],"class_list":{"0":"post-388782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-commonwealth-fusion-systems-cfs","9":"tag-green-energy","10":"tag-green-new-deal-type-policies","11":"tag-nuclear-power","12":"tag-power-grid","13":"tag-virginia","14":"tag-virginia-clean-economy-act-vcea-2","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OIG2-15.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1D8G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":223466,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=223466","url_meta":{"origin":388782,"position":0},"title":"Gov. Youngkin\u2019s energy plan: Serious reform or public relations head fake?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Would the new Youngkin Plan rein in these massive renewable energy boondoggles?","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-552.png?fit=631%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-552.png?fit=631%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-552.png?fit=631%2C399&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":279027,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279027","url_meta":{"origin":388782,"position":1},"title":"Giant Utility Rejects Net Zero Power, Big Fight Follows","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Dominion Energy, Virginia\u2019s big electric utility, is telling the State it does not foresee complying with the 2045 net zero power target in the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). The preferred option in Dominion\u2019s latest Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) retires no fossil-fueled power generators, other than the few old ones\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Anti-fossil alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"Anti-fossil alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=anti-fossil-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0wind-energy-offshore.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0wind-energy-offshore.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0wind-energy-offshore.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0wind-energy-offshore.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":278601,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=278601","url_meta":{"origin":388782,"position":2},"title":"Giant utility rejects net zero power, big fight follows","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Dominion Energy, Virginia\u2019s big electric utility, is telling the State it does not foresee complying with the 2045 net zero power target in the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). The preferred option in Dominion\u2019s latest Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) retires no fossil-fueled power generators, other than the few old ones\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Dominion Energy\"","block_context":{"text":"Dominion Energy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=dominion-energy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0o-BLACKOUT-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0o-BLACKOUT-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0o-BLACKOUT-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0o-BLACKOUT-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0o-BLACKOUT-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":422923,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422923","url_meta":{"origin":388782,"position":3},"title":"Virginia Rejoins the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Virginia\u2019s new governor, Abigail Spanberger, announced that Virginia will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), falsely claiming that the state\u2019s withdrawal from the program increased costs. She said that rejoining RGGI is aimed at lowering monthly utility bills and restoring investments that support energy efficiency and flood mitigation across\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Artificial Intelligence (AI)\"","block_context":{"text":"Artificial Intelligence (AI)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=artificial-intelligence-ai"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-24-170851.png?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-24-170851.png?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-24-170851.png?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-24-170851.png?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Screenshot-2026-01-24-170851.png?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":185550,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=185550","url_meta":{"origin":388782,"position":4},"title":"Tell lawmakers the Virginia \u201cClean\u201d Economy Act is a dangerous mistake","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/01\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2020, the Democrats in Virginia railroaded through a piece of radical climate legislation called the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). 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