Today, the Alliance submitted two sets of comments to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) regarding recommendations for Virginia’s 2018 Energy Plan. The first set of comments, which were submitted in partnership with Columbia Gas of Virginia and Washington Gas, recommends that DMME develop an energy plan that: (1) Commits to a statewide CHP and WHP technical potential study; (2) Sets a CHP and WHP deployment target of 750 MW of new CHP by 2030; and (3) Creates a CHP and WHP working group with a mission to develop a CHP and WHP roadmap for the Commonwealth. These actions would help the Commonwealth recognize the multiple economic, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas reduction benefits that CHP and WHP provide. Read more here.
The second set of comments focuses on energy efficiency broadly and offers four additional recommendations for the energy plan. We recommend the energy plan supports: (1) The re-formation of the Executive Committee on Energy Efficiency; (2) The promotion of C-PACE programs in localities across Virginia; (3) An expanded goal of reducing energy consumption at state facilities by 20 percent by 2022; and (4) The development of tools to track success, including analyzing programs not currently included in tracking systems, such as industrial programs. These recommendations will help Virginia strengthen its energy efficiency efforts to work toward achieving its statewide 10 percent reduction goal and expanding its 15 percent “lead-by-example” reduction goal. Read more here.