HB 20

Abstract

Virginia Alternative Energy and Coastal Protection Act. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to implement the final carbon trading regulation as approved by the State Air Pollution Control Board in order to establish a carbon dioxide cap and trade program that limits and reduces the total carbon dioxide emissions released by electric generation facilities and that complies with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to assist counties, cities, towns, residents, and businesses affected by recurrent flooding, sea-level rise, and flooding from severe weather events; (ii) to support energy efficiency programs; (iii) to support renewable energy programs; (iv) to provide economic development, education, and workforce training programs for families and businesses in Southwest Virginia for the purpose of revitalizing communities negatively affected by the decline of fossil fuel production; (v) to the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund to fund the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program; and (vi) for administrative expenses. The measure states that development of new utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight, or from onshore or offshore wind, to achieve the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is in the public interest and directs Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to achieve a minimum of 50 percent of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through the development of such utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight, or from onshore or offshore wind. The measure provides that any retail customer that purchases electric energy from a supplier other than the incumbent electric utility serving the exclusive service territory in which such retail customer is located shall pay a non-bypassable surcharge. The measure also requires the Department to establish an allowance set-aside for any electric generation facility subject to a cap and trade program that operates according to a long-term contract as of January 1, 2020, that prohibits the recovery of allowance costs. This bill was incorporated into HB 981.