Youngkin Vetoes Two Bills Supporting Solar And Energy Storage, But Don't Forget, He's An "All Of The Above" Energy Guy
RICHMOND, Va.–Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed two bills for the development of small solar projects and energy storage that had won bipartisan votes and support from Dominion Energy, environmental groups and farm and forestry representatives. The bills would have encouraged private homes and companies to initiate solar projects and bolstered the existing utility’s efforts to capture electricity from renewable sources for later use. Dominion said in April, in an application to purchase electricity from third-party suppliers, that enhanced solar production and its own plans to store electricity would result in billions of dollars of fuel savings through 2035.
Youngkin has described himself as an “all-of-the-above” energy supporter with plans to support fossil fuel sources as well as renewable technologies. Critics said the vetoes last week raise questions about his commitment to clean energy and illustrate his disdain for the state’s landmark decarbonization law, the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
The Republican governor, enthusiastic about the development of data centers in the state, has in the past year supported a proposed natural gas peaker plant and renewable sources to encourage such development. But Youngkin rejected the current legislation over his concern that ratepayers for existing utilities, which are reliant on fossil fuel, would bear in part the cost of increased solar production, according to a statement released Tuesday.
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Dominion Energy, which supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, supported the expansion of home solar users in part because the utility could benefit. The bill would have extended a deadline for Dominion to recover costs for its strategic program to install distribution lines underground from 2028 to 2032, and delayed a demand for Dominion to recover deficiency payments, or penalties for shortfalls in obtaining credits, from ratepayers. The utility expects an offshore wind project to be operational in 2026, which would offset its credit payments.
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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09052025/virginia-gov-glenn-youngkin-vetoes-clean-energy-bills/