Governor Glenn Youngkin is being lobbied on a bill that would change how the energy grid works. He's expected to make a decision within the week.
A virtual power plant is kinda like an old-fashioned power plant except it's decentralized. That's the argument in favor of the governor signing a bill currently on his desk for a pilot program. Tim Cywinski of the Sierra Club says this is the kind of all-of-the-above approach to energy that the governor is always talking about.
"Right now, electricity is provided by one single source, like one giant natural gas plant. A virtual power plant pulls energy from multiple sources as opposed to one," Cywinski says. "So, if a giant natural gas plant isn't working as effectively because it's the hottest day or the coldest day, now we can pull from solar, we can pull from wind."
The governor is also hearing from people who say readjusting demand for power does not create new energy.
"It doesn't add a single kilowatt of electricity. It's basically a rationing scheme," says Steven Haner at the Thomas Jefferson Institute.
"So, there’ll be times when it will be basically telling your thermostat to go to a different level; there’ll be times when it'll be sucking power out of your electric vehicle battery."
The governor's deadline for making a decision on this bill – and 900 more – is Monday at midnight.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
