Gov. Glenn Youngkin has a chance to deliver a major win for Virginia’s energy security by signing House Bill 2346.
This past General Assembly session, the legislature passed House Bill 2346 which would establish a pilot program to create a statewide Virtual Power Plant (VPP) — in summary, it is a voluntary network of small, decentralized energy sources like home solar panels with battery storage — that can work together to supply electricity to the grid when demand is high. VPPs don’t just serve as a backup in emergencies — they actively reduce strain on the grid every day by supplying extra power when demand is high. That means fewer blackouts, lower costs and a more reliable energy supply for all Virginians.
Homeowners who choose to participate have the ability to earn money by selling their excess power back to the utility. This is the kind of smart, market-driven policy that conservatives should fight for, rather than allowing radical leftists to dictate America’s energy future. Other conservative-led states are already proving that VPPs are a smart investment. In Texas, for example, home battery owners are getting paid hundreds of dollars per year for supplying backup power to the grid. Florida utilities are exploring VPPs to cut costs and boost energy reliability.
Virginia is staring down an energy crisis with the increasing demand for more energy. The commonwealth is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, with more than 70% of the world’s internet traffic passing through Northern Virginia. These facilities already consume over a quarter of Virginia’s electricity, and that number is growing. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing are key to our national security, and we need all available resources to meet the increasing power demand.
A Virtual Power Plant network is a commonsense, America First solution. By linking thousands of small energy sources into a unified system, VPPs can supply extra power to the grid when it’s needed most. The Department of Energy has found that expanding VPPs nationwide could eventually reduce peak electricity demand by up to 20% — making the grid much more resilient for everybody — and save American consumers $10 billion annually. That’s real money going back into the pockets of Virginia families instead of being wasted on overpriced, inefficient energy projects pushed by left-wing environmental activists.
With House Bill 2346, Virginians will be able to do our part to establish not just energy independence, but American energy dominance. By signing this bill, Gov. Youngkin can further cement his legacy as a champion of energy security, lower costs for Virginians, make the commonwealth a leader in energy innovation and put power back in the hands of hardworking Virginians where it belongs.
Thomas Turner of Suffolk is the State Director for Conservatives for Clean Energy, which is part of a 26-state Conservative Energy Network that advocates and supports an “all of the above” approach to energy that is more affordable, reliable and increasingly clean.