Dive Brief:
- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has formed a public-private committee to examine how the state can accelerate its energy conservation goals, including a 10% reduction in retail electricity consumption by 2020.
- McAuliffe formed the Governor’s Executive Committee on Energy Efficiency, consisting of 12 members from a diverse group of sectors including the utility industry, consumer advocates and banking.
- The committee is also tasked with building partnerships between Virginia’s electric utilities, government and private generation developers, with a goal of installing 15 MW of solar energy generation at state and local government facilities.
Dive Insight:
Virginia Gov. McAuliffe on Monday announced plans to accelerate by two years the state's goal to reduce retail power consumption, along with a host of other targets and initiatives which will require the state to focus on efficiency.
“The energy sector is a key strategic growth area as we work to build a new Virginia economy, and improving energy efficiency is one of the real opportunities," McAuliffe said in a statement. The executive energy committee was created "to help ensure that we meet our goal in an accelerated time frame," he said.
Among the committee's dozen members are Cynthia Adams, executive director of LEAP Virginia, an efficiency advocacy group, and Ken Barker, vice president of technical solutions for Dominion Virginia Power.
McAuliffe's framework for the committee noted that while Virginia set its reduction goal in 2007, it is unclear how much progress has been made. "While there is anecdotal evidence that work toward achieving this goal is underway, there is a lack of a comprehensive understanding, along with easily identifiable data, as to where the Commonwealth currently stands in meeting the 10% goal," the document said.
Other recommnedations to the committee include identifying market and policy barriers which keep utilities and the private sector from working together, working to boost the spread of solar power and encouraging the development of offshore wind generation.
