A BILL to amend and reenact § 45.2-1725 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund.
HB1089 amends Virginia’s Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Fund and Program, which supports renewable energy development on brownfields and previously coal mined lands. The bill keeps the existing framework for a special nonreverting fund and competitive grant program, but updates key grant amounts and program rules. Under the bill, grants would be awarded at $500 per kilowatt for projects on previously coal mined lands and $200 per kilowatt for projects on brownfields, with caps of $10 million per coal-mined-lands project and $5 million per brownfield project. The bill also limits annual program allocations to $35 million, with $20 million reserved for coal-mined-lands projects unless unused funds are reallocated to brownfield projects.
The bill would amend § 45.2-1725 of the Code of Virginia to change the funding structure and grant award levels for the Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Grant Program. It would continue the special nonreverting fund, preserve administrative authority in the Department, and require consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill also reinforces program oversight, annual reporting, and local hiring criteria for grant recipients, while maintaining the focus on renewable energy generation or storage on contaminated or previously mined sites. If enacted, it would affect project developers, localities, and state agencies involved in brownfield redevelopment, coal mine reclamation, and renewable energy siting.
The bill appears generally supportive of redevelopment and clean energy goals, with a policy emphasis on turning underused or environmentally challenged lands into productive renewable energy sites. The structure of the bill suggests an effort to encourage investment in both coal-reclaimed lands and brownfields while tying grants to local job creation and reporting requirements. No committee transcript or recorded votes were provided, and the bill was left in the Committee on Appropriations, so there is no direct evidence of floor-level support or opposition in the materials supplied.
The main points of potential contention are the size and distribution of state grant funding, especially the annual $35 million cap and the $20 million reservation for previously coal mined lands projects. Another likely issue is the differing per-kilowatt grant rates and project caps for coal-mined lands versus brownfields, which may raise questions about fairness, prioritization, and fiscal exposure. The local hiring requirement and administrative reporting obligations could also be debated by developers or stakeholders concerned about compliance burdens, although no specific objections were recorded in the provided materials.