Recent News

By Tag

See all

By Month

See all

Canary Media: What does Glenn Youngkin’s win in Virginia mean for clean energy?

Posted by Julian Spector on Nov 17, 2021

Canary Media outlined what Glenn Youngkin's gubernatorial win could mean for the Virginia Clean Economy Act, quoting AEE's Harry Godfrey. Read snippets below and the full article here

The incoming Republican governor expressed skepticism about Virginia’s 100% clean energy law but said he supports a massive offshore wind project...

Virginia passed 100 percent clean energy legislation last year after Democrats took unified control of the state’s government. Then, earlier this month, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race, and the House of Delegates flipped to a slim Republican majority. So what happens now? ...

If Youngkin models his energy policy on Trump’s, he could push to repeal Virginia’s clean energy law, which bans fossil-fueled electricity by 2050, boosts renewables in the current decade and institutes energy-efficiency programs to save money for customers.

But it’s not clear that Youngkin is interested in doing that...

If Youngkin focuses political capital on the issues that won him the election, the status-quo energy policy would be for Virginia’s low-carbon transition to continue.

Clean-energy advocates are already making the case that the transition could help Youngkin achieve his core campaign goals.

Glenn Youngkin ran as a business leader focused on moving Virginia’s economy forward and creating economic opportunity. We’re hopeful, as such, that he will recognize the important role advanced energy has to play in that,” said Harrison Godfrey, executive director of industry group Virginia Advanced Energy Economy.

In particular, Godfrey noted, building more clean energy creates jobs, drives investment to rural communities and attracts large corporate energy users such as data centers, which have become a key economic driver for Virginia.

Read the full article here.

Topics: United In The News