Virginia is the latest state to set an ambitious target that calls for generating all of its electricity from carbon-free resources, while significantly ramping up solar and wind development.
Gov. Ralph Northam on Sept. 17 announced the signing of an executive order with a goal that 30% of the state's electricity will be generated from renewable resources by 2030 with 100% of Virginia's electricity produced by carbon-free resources, including nuclear generation, by 2050.
The governor's order includes ensuring 3,000 MW of new solar and onshore wind projects are under development by 2022 and up to 2,500 MW of offshore wind is "fully developed" by 2026.
Dominion Energy Inc. subsidiary Dominion Energy Virginia and Danish wind developer Ørsted A/S have started construction on the 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, located about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Va. Construction of the pilot project is scheduled for completion in 2020, while Dominion has outlined the potential for $1.1 billion in offshore wind investments through 2023.
"The offshore wind industry in the United States is on the cusp of a major boom that could see America become one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world," Northam wrote in his executive order. "The larger offshore wind energy area could supply as much as 2,500 MW of offshore wind, and it should be fully developed by 2026."
At the Virginia Clean Energy Summit in Richmond, Northam said the executive order underscores how state policymakers need to do their part to avoid catastrophic effects from climate change.
"It is time for us to take action," Northam said. "We all know clean energy has numerous benefits."
The executive order builds on the 2018 Virginia Energy Plan and the Grid Transformation and Security Act, which Northam signed in March 2018.
The Grid Transformation and Security, or GTSA, supports the integration of 5,500 MW of new solar and wind generation by 2028. Under the GTSA, Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power Co. Inc. utility Appalachian Power Co. are required to make more than $1 billion in investments in energy efficiency and energy assistance programs over the next decade.
The Virginia Energy Plan and Northam's executive order call for Dominion Energy Virginia, known legally as Virginia Electric and Power Co., to increase investments in energy efficiency programs to $100 million per year and Appalachian Power to increase investments to $15 million annually.
The executive order directs the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to work with Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball, Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew Strickler and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Director David Paylor to develop a plan of action to meet the state's renewable energy goals.
Dominion Energy's Joe Woomer, vice president of grid and technical solutions, said during a panel discussion at the clean energy summit that the governor's goals "are very aligned" with the company's plans under the GTSA. Woomer added that the governor's announcement emphasizes the urgency to utilize clean energy now.
"We cannot afford to wait," he said. "We have to invest in it now. We have to be smart about it."
