Virginia Takes a Final Step to Climate Action & Clean Energy

Cleaner air to breathe and cleaner electrons to power the economy are on the way in Virginia, as today the Commonwealth's Department of Environmental Quality releases for final public comment a strong rule that would limit harmful carbon pollution—our nation's leading driver of costly climate change—from Virginia's power plants.

The proposed and close-to-final rule is smart for a few different reasons. 

First, it cuts carbon pollution using the cap-and-invest model, already used by 1 in 5 states in the country, which would enable Virginia to reduce its pollution by putting a price on carbon and applying the carbon "allowance" revenues to smart investments, such as energy efficiency. Additional action is still needed from Virginia's legislature to fully enable smart investments of carbon revenue in efficiency to further lower bills and pollution. Nonetheless, the DEQ's rule puts in place the bulk of the program needed to eventually make those consumer-friendly and pollution-reducing efficiency investments.

Second, the rule is also well-designed because the DEQ has set the allowed pollution level in the rule's first year—2020—at just the right level from which the state will make meaningful reductions in subsequent years. Specifically, the DEQ has set a year-one "baseline" of 28 million tons, the amount of pollution we can expect from Virginia's power plants next year. Then, in 2021 and in each year thereafter, that total amount of harmful pollution must be reduced annually by 3%, a commonsense and economic reduction level that also matches the successful and already-underway RGGI program, to which the Virginia program will link for even greater economy-of-scale.

Linking to RGGI in this way is good news for consumers: largely due to smart investment in energy efficiency, RGGI states have seen their electricity prices go down since beginning the program (while in the same period Virginia's electricity bills have instead significantly increased). Virginia can see the same benefits if it finally makes smart investments in bill-lowering energy efficiency programs.

Lastly, the DEQ's rule appears to be good for the climate and for forests by removing a previously-inserted exemption of power plants that burn wood alongside coal to generate electricity. NRDC supports the removal of this unwise giveaway to wood-burning polluters. While the Trump administration bends over backwards to give away the store to corporate polluters, Virginia must avoid doing the same by handing out a loophole to wood burning. There is simply too much 21st century technology available—efficiency, solar, and wind—for the DEQ to ignore 19th century-style pollution from burning wood for energy.

Assuming that coverage of wood burning remains in place, the DEQ has done well to get this rule to the finish line in early 2019. In doing so, all Virginians have cleaner air and, eventually, a safer climate, in 2020 and beyond.