I have a 21 year old son and for his future as well as any grandchildren that may come my way and for the future of all our children I think it imperative that Virginia get its energy policy right. What is abundantly clear to me is that carbon needs to be minimized. We simply cannot take climate change as nonchalant as we have.

Taxation and tax incentives

We need to raise the price of carbon fuels to reflect their true cost to society and use these monies to provide tax breaks to electric and hybrid cars and solar and wind energy.

Grid Modernization and Planning for a Clean Energy Future

• A flexible grid with more energy supply and supplier options, more security, and a more diverse mix of centralized and distributed generation, can prepare Virginia and speed up our transition to a clean energy economy.
• State energy policy should strengthen and modernize our grid in Virginia for a 100% clean energy future by 2030.
• Distributed clean energy and microgrids in our communities will create a more secure and resilient grid in the face of extreme weather and the worsening impacts of climate change.

Distributed, Customer-Owned Solar

• Expanding access to distributed, customer-owned solar will save money for taxpayers, create jobs and economic development, lower our carbon footprint, improve public health, and make our communities more resilient in the face of climate change and threats to the grid.
• Currently, customer-owned  solar is lagging due to opposition from utilities like Dominion and their undue influence over energy policy in Virginia.  
• Rooftops, parking lots, closed landfills, airports and other spaces can be put to work providing our communities with clean energy by removing the barriers to distributed, customer-owned solar.
• Provide tax incentives for nonprofit coops to install solar and wind energy in homes of poor and middleclass folks allowing them to rent space in their yards and rooftops, allowing rent to increase when the system installed is paid off.

Energy Efficiency

Virginia is far behind other states in promoting energy efficiency. As a result we are wasting energy, paying higher utility bills, and suffering air, water, land and climate pollution