Virginia is the newest state to join the 100% clean energy mandate, as Gov. Ralph Northam has signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires the state to go fully renewable by 2050. The signing made Old Dominion\u00a0the 30th state\u00a0to establish a renewable mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the Virginia Clean Economy Act requires the state\u2019s utilities to procure 16 GW of solar and onshore wind, accompanied by just over 3 GW of energy storage. On the distributed side, the bill expands net metering in a fashion that local installers have said will \u201cexponentially grow the rooftop solar market in Virginia.\u201d These procurement targets are anticipated to create 29,500 new jobs, with provisions that those jobs are given predominantly to local workers from historically disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for interim goals, the bill directs Dominion Virginia and Appalachian Power Co. to supply 30% of their power from renewables by 2030. All coal plants in the state are now set to close by 2024, while all carbon-emitting power plants must be shut down by 2045 for Dominion and by 2050 for Appalachian. Any utilities that miss this date or the other targets outlined are subject to fines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is historic, and there isn\u2019t quite any other way to put it,\u201d said Rachel Smucker, Virginia policy and development manager for the Maryland Delaware Virginia Solar Energy Industries Association in March, upon the bill\u2019s passage in the state legislature. \u201cThe Virginia Clean Economy Act will transform the Commonwealth\u2019s economy, usher in a new age of energy deployment that will create a market for distributed generation like we\u2019ve never seen before, and help turn back the tide against climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virginia currently ranks\u00a018th in the country\u00a0in terms of total installed solar capacity thus far, at 893 MW. While the 29,500 new jobs created will be across the spectrum of renewable technologies, that number will include a marked increase in the amount of solar jobs in the state, which currently sits at roughly 4,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: https:\/\/pv-magazine-usa.com\/2020\/04\/13\/virginia-passes-100-clean-power-mandate\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Ralph Northam has signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires the state\u2019s utilities to switch to 100% clean energy by 2050, while also adding 16 GW of solar and onshore wind, 3 GW of energy storage and the closing of all the state\u2019s coal power plants by 2024. Virginia is the newest state…
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