CHAPTER 69
An Act to direct the Department of Energy and the Department of Environmental Quality to analyze the life cycle of renewable energy facilities; report.
[S 499]
Approved April 1, 2022
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The State Corporation Commission shall create a task force, in consultation with the Department of Energy and the Department of Environmental Quality, to analyze the life cycle of renewable energy facilities, including solar, wind, and battery storage components. The analysis shall assess the (i) feasibility, costs, recycling and salvage opportunities, waste strategies, and liability for the decommissioning of materials; (ii) potential impacts of underground infrastructure post-decommissioning; (iii) potential impacts of the life cycle on farming, forestry, and sensitive wetlands; and (iv) potential beneficial economic impact of solar, wind, and battery storage development. The task force shall include representatives of local governments, the Virginia Solar Energy Development and Energy Storage Authority, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Environmental Quality and at least one representative for each of the following sectors: agriculture, forestry, regulated electric service providers, competitive electric service providers, rural utility consumer services cooperatives, and renewable energy service providers, as well as organizations with expertise in the climate and environment. The State Corporation Commission shall submit a report of the task force's analysis to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than May 1, 2023.