Virginia lawmakers want to more than triple the amount of energy storage capacity Virginia’s two public utility companies — Dominion and Appalachian Power (ApCo) — must procure under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
Passed in 2020, the VCEA required Dominion to supply electricity from only carbon-neutral sources by 2045. It gave ApCo until 2050 to meet the same standard. As part of its strategy to decarbonize the grid, the VCEA also set targets for public utilities to add capacity to store excess energy produced from renewable sources to dispatch during times of high demand.
House Bill 2537 and companion Senate Bill 1394 would increase targets set by the VCEA for Dominion and ApCo energy storage capacity from a combined 3,100 megawatts to 10,000 megawatts. Del. Richard Sullivan, D-Fairfax, who proposed HB 2537, said more energy storage would bring down energy costs — which Dominion projects will rise by 50% for its residential customers by 2039 — and help maintain grid reliability.
“This will position the commonwealth as a real national leader in developing energy storage … reduces the need to develop peaker plants, and ensures the best use of renewable technologies,” Sullivan said.
He added that increasing storage capacity “ensures the lights stay on for constituents during natural weather events.”
Sullivan’s bill passed the House 54-44 along mostly partisan lines, with two members not voting. The Senate version, brought by Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, passed unanimously. The two bills now await further action in the other’s chamber.tility costs including labor, equipment, foundations, driveways and surface markings to install EV charging stations in areas with low population density and higher-than-state-average unemployment.
Read the full article: https://virginiamercury.com/2025/02/13/as-power-demand-surges-va-lawmakers-seem-ready-to-add-more-energy-storage-to-the-grid/
