*House Bill 214would support local flood resiliency grants. But it’s largely based on assumptions that "recurrent” flooding results from climate-driven rising sea levels and increasing rainfall. However, NOAA data showing a doubling in the rate of sea level rise in recent decades puts the new rise atone-eighth inch per year– and a total of just9 inches since 1880!

Moreover, perceived sea level rise is oftendue toland subsidencein Norfolk, Virginia and elsewhere.

* To account for intermittent power generation due to unpredictable wind and sunshine,HB 895 would revisetheVirginia Clean Economy Actto increase utility grid-scale battery storage requirements.

Now Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy must construct or procure some 135 Gigawatt-hours (135,000 Megawatt-hours) of short, medium and long-duration grid-scale storage capacity. (Virginia homes, businesses, hospitals, data centers and other users currently consume over270 GW-h per average day; much more during extreme heat or cold.)

The mandated totals depend onhow many batteries are 4-hour or 10-hour or still nonexistent 24-hour, and whether they export their full nameplate storage value – or only a more realistic 80 percent.

What storage would be required for the predicted January 24-26 weekendsnow and ice storms and near-zero cold, with no solar and zero to minimal wind? Blackouts could be widespread and long-term. Families could literally freeze to death in the dark – if Virginia lacks adequate coal, gas and nuclear.

*The governor also supports giving the State Corporation Commission more authority to review grid efficiency and limit unnecessary transmission line construction. But how can it limit transmission line construction while installing all the proposed and mandated wind, solar and battery equipment? Far better to build gas and nuclear power plants close to power-hungry data centers and cities.

The 13-state (including Virginia)PJM Interconnectionalready facesserious energy security threats: significant shortfalls in critically needed dispatchable electricity, soaring prices, and Pennsylvania losing new generation to neighboring states with clearer, faster approval rules. Virginia government take note.

* Renewable energy promoters claim wind and solar power costs(and thus consumer prices) are now on par with or lower than coal, gas or nuclear electricity.

These claims focus oninitial costsof installing turbines and panels. They leave out the enormous costs of constructing, maintaining and operatingduplicativecoal- and gas-fired backup power plants that must operate 24/7 on idle and be ready to go full-throttle every time wind and sunshine are insufficient.

Backup batteries are even more costly. HB 895 directs Dominion to have 64,000 MW-h of 4-hour batteries, which wouldcost around $33 billion. Sufficient additional batteries would multiply that 5-10x.

Grid-scale backup batteries also carry significantfire and toxic emissionrisks, as with the 300-megawatt battery inferno atMoss Landing, California.

Lobbyists and legislators likewise gloss over subsidies via taxes and hidden charges on electric bills – and payments to utilities fornotproducing electricity when they must shut down because of high winds or because overall generation exceeds supply or grid capacity.

They don’t mention the exorbitant cost of replacing Atlantic Ocean wind turbines every 10-20 years, due to salt spray and storms; replacing huge solar panel installationsdestroyed by hailstorms; or building hundred-mile-long transmission lines at$1-8 million per mile.

Virginia’s governor, legislators and regulators need to pause their stampede of laws, rules, regulations and spending – including nearly2,400 legislative billsso far. But like too many other Democrats, they seem incapable of – or opposed to – thoughtful analysis and debate, common sense, moderation, attention to energy, ecological and economic reality … and genuine concern for the poor.