On October 3, 2022, the Virginia Department of Energy released the 2022 version of the Virginia Energy Plan. The plan reflects the priorities of Governor Youngkin and focuses on energy innovation with wind, solar, carbon capture, and nuclear technologies to achieve its goals.
The latest iteration of the Virginia Energy Plan relies on five underlying guiding principles: reliability; affordability; innovation; competition; and environmental stewardship. The plan leverages these principles to achieve its goals of promoting a lower cost of living; creating new jobs; bringing people to Virginia; and pursuing an all-of-the-above approach to energy policy. Specifically, the plan aims to develop advanced nuclear energy to turn Virginia into a nuclear hub, in addition to pursuing investments in technologies such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen to increase energy innovation in the state. These technologies, combined with offshore wind and energy efficiency, will help improve upon and capitalize on Virginia’s energy strengths to improve upon the state’s leadership positions in energy.