HB 895

Electric utilities; energy storage requirements; Department of Energy to develop model ordinance; work groups; reports . Increases the targets for energy storage capacity that Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia are required to petition the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) for approval to construct, acquire, or procure and extends the time frame by which such capacity must be met. Under the bill, (i) Appalachian Power shall petition the Commission for approval to construct, acquire, or procure at least 780 megawatts of short-duration energy storage capacity by 2040 and 520 megawatts of long-duration energy storage capacity by 2045 and (ii) Dominion Energy Virginia shall petition the Commission for approval to construct, acquire, or procure at least 16,000 megawatts of short-duration energy storage capacity by 2045 and 3,480 megawatts of long-duration energy storage capacity by 2045. 'Long-duration energy storage' and 'short-duration energy storage' are defined in the bill. The bill requires the Commission to conduct a technology demonstration program for long-duration energy storage resources and initiate a proceeding to determine if such technology is viable and that the targets in the bill are reasonably achievable, for which a final order shall be entered no later than March 1, 2030. Certain provisions of the bill are only effective upon such determination by the Commission. The bill requires the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Fire Programs, to create a model ordinance for use by localities in their regulation of energy storage projects and to submit a report to the General Assembly by December 1, 2026. The bill directs the Department of Energy and the Department of Environmental Quality to convene a work group to develop recommendations and financial incentives related to the development of long-duration energy storage projects and submit a report to the General Assembly by December 1, 2026. The bill also directs the Department of Energy to engage with PJM Interconnection, LLC, in reviewing regional market conditions related to energy storage resources and permits Dominion Energy Virginia to propose a partnership with institutions of higher education to deploy energy storage resources.