Youngkin speaks about energy plan ahead of update in coming weeks

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks in Virginia Beach Friday, July 18, 2024 with Virginia Manufacturers Association Brett Vassey sitting to his left. (Charlie Paullin/Virginia Mercury)

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin Friday leaned into his All-of-the-Above energy plan that calls for continued use of natural gas, despite scientists stating human use of fossil fuels is causing climate change’s increasingly intense storms.

“We need more gas. We need more solar and wind and we need nuclear and we are going to lead the nation here and that is going to be a wonderful thing to see,” Youngkin said. “I get frustrated by people who talk about ‘either-ors.’ Small minded people, in my mind, constantly drive us into the ‘either-or. We can either do this or do that.’ I firmly reject that.”

Youngkin’s comments came during a speech at the third annual Virginia Energy Summit, sponsored largely by gas companies, in Virginia Beach.

Before the event, Youngkin’s speech was presented to the public as an update to his energy plan, released in October 2022. State law dictates a new plan needs to be released every four years, with updates coming by Oct. 1 in the third year of a governor’s term. No formal update was provided at Friday’s event, but one is expected in the coming weeks.

“The Governor’s revision to the 2022 Energy Plan will reiterate the vision he outlined two years ago and chart a path forward for Virginia to meet the unprecedented needs of Virginia’s power economy,” said spokeswoman Macaulay Porter in a statement, while touting the state’s economic activity.

The speech came after Youngkin, previously discussed as a former vice presidential candidate, regained national attention this week by speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s not clear if Youngkin is continuing to pursue any higher office, but in the same time period North Dakota governor, Greg Burgum , has been floated as a potential appointee to an energy position within the administration of Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, if he were to win.

Youngkin’s support for natural gas is a familiar message, recently shared in Louisiana with a suite of other Republican governors who attacked the energy policy of current Democratic President Joe Biden, who is also the presumed Democratic nominee for president. Biden has reiterated his commitment to the race, despite mounting calls for him to step aside.

Youngkin unveiled his first energy plan in 2022, which calls for using natural gas, nuclear and a revaluation of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the 2020 landmark law that seeks to decarbonize the state’s electric grid by mid-century. His  plan also called for restoring authority to the State Corporation Commission to adjust rates, such as reducing rate adjustment clauses, or the fees tacked on to bills so Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company can recover costs for generation sources.

Environmental and ratepayer advocates criticized his  plan, saying it’s unrealistic because it incorporated unproven technologies and inaccurately attributed electric bill increases to renewable energy sources that are needed to combat climate change.

Legislatively, Youngkin’s negotiations were instrumental in providing ratepayer protections, and restoring authority to the SCC to set rates as it sees fit, in a bill that Dominion initially introduced to increase its profits.

But critics also point to his desire to leave the California clean car standards, which aims to transition drivers to electric vehicles, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a market that requires electricity producers to purchase allowances for each short ton of carbon they emit. The proceeds from those allowances had led to almost $800 million in revenue being returned to the state for flood resiliency and energy efficiency programs.

“I’m a conservationist,” said Youngkin, who told the Associated Press in 2022 he thinks climate change is a threat. “We have done more investing in our last two-and-a-half years in promoting the long-term interests of the Chesapeake Bay and rivers and streams and air quality in the commonwealth of Virginia than any other administration in the history of the state, in my view.”

Walton Shepherd, Virginia policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said after the speech that Youngkin’s “refusal to bring even a single practical idea for tackling Virginia’s catastrophic climate change, and instead doing his best to ensure Virginia does nothing at all about it, is the epitome of narrow minded hyperpartisanship.”

Lee Francis, deputy director with the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, responded to Youngkin’s speech by saying “It’s bold to call people who are working to solve our largest environmental threat — climate change — ‘small minded.’”

“‘Small minded’ is pretending this isn’t a problem,” Francis added. “I’m glad Youngkin thinks he’s a conservationist. Maybe he’ll start to act like one one of these days.”

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