From Hurricane Anxiety to Climate Action: A Journey of Hope

Facing the Fury of Nature, One Floridian Now Living in Norfolk Finds Purpose in the Fight Against Climate Change with CCAN

A blog by Britt Flanagan, member of CCAN’S Hampton Roads 757 Climate Action Team (CAT)

Growing up on the Space Coast of Florida, I was no stranger to hurricanes, but this one was different.

Hurricane Milton landfall on radar by the National Weather Service/NOAA

I knew 2024 would be a record season. Weather forecasters were chattering about the potential danger well before it started. Still, I wasn’t prepared. I was caught off guard by the sheer devastation of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. Our region suffered $200 billion in infrastructure damages…230 deaths, leaving the unhealable wound of grief in its wake. So when the next storm – Hurricane Milton – reared its head just two weeks later, growing in strength and generating a path directly at my family back home, a special kind of desperate anxiety seized my heart.

Are they prepared? Will they know when to leave? What about my family members who can’t evacuate? How do you grapple with a deadly, uncontrollable force barreling its way to your hometown filled with those you love? Hours dragged on as we waited for impact, flashbacks of Hurricane Helene’s destruction on our minds. How can this season be so severe? What do we have to look forward to in the future? Will things only get worse?

After hours of checking the weather for updates and sending messages to my family to check up on their preparations, the storm finally hit. I remember being glued to my laptop at work, refreshing the weather page as it approached Tampa where it would cross the state and hit the East Coast.

By the time it reached my family, it was a Category 1 hurricane: something they were capable of handling. An exhausted relief washed over me when I heard that everyone was okay the following morning. Still, I was left grappling with that sense of anxiety.

This was a special kind of anxiety that came from a total lack of control. My family either wouldn’t or couldn’t evacuate. A huge devastating storm caused by a force I didn’t know how to grapple with: Climate Change. With climate change’s current trajectory, I’ll likely have to face this same situation again. What does someone do with that? Do they give in? Resign to fear? Hope the next storm downgrades just before it hits like Milton did? How can someone fight a force as big as climate change?

CCAN 757 CAT Action Team Beach Clean-up Event

My answer came at a concert of all places. There, in the lobby, I stumbled across something I was not expecting. Two bright-eyed, inviting individuals stood behind a table draped in blue cloth proudly sporting a logo for CCAN: Chesapeake Climate Action Network. I remember standing off to the side, tapping on my sibling’s shoulder, and pointing eagerly at the table. A flurry of excitement (and admittedly a surge of social anxiety) hit me. Could this be it? Could it finally be a chance to chip away at the ever-present feeling of hopelessness? Leianis, the Hampton Roads Organizer for CCAN, greeted us warmly and, seeing the enthusiasm in our eyes, showed us how we could sign up for updates.

Before we knew it, we were seated beneath a gazebo in Virginia Beach, with dirt on our hands as we built “seed bombs,” small, packed balls (or, in my case, stars) of fertilizer filled with seeds of native Virginian flowers. There I learned that CCAN’s Hampton Roads team was just getting its feet under them and were on their way to an official team launch. Something I had the honor and impeccable timing to be a part of! For the first time, I was surrounded by like-minded people who wanted to fight for the environment and now we had something to pour that energy into.

757 CAT Meeting

A few months later, we were in Norfolk. Many now-familiar faces surrounded my sibling and me. This was the official team launch: something new and exciting that can do so much good for our region! It was a truly collaborative experience. Leianis expertly led our group through discussions, ensuring everyone had their chance to speak. There was much deliberation as we all worked to find common ground. We each drafted a statement we thought would best reflect the team’s unique ideas in a cohesive way. Then, under the guidance of Leianis and Zander, we crafted a shared purpose statement, (or as I tend to call it, a mission statement). There was surprising power and pride in that little statement. It made this team and its potential finally start to feel real. Now we had something shared, something we crafted together, something we could rally behind. I remember leaving that meeting, feeling an exciting buzz in the air.

Our team continues to grow and develop structure. We’re each coming into our own: seeing how our little puzzle piece fits into the bigger picture of the team. There’s a flurry of ideas and potential as we pave our way forward, and for the first time in a long time, I’ve been struck with a new special kind of feeling: hope.

This fight will be a long one. There will be wins. There will be losses. I may have to face my fair share of scary storms along the way. The difference this time is I will be fighting back, and I won’t be alone.

A blog by Britt Flanagan, member of CCAN’S Hampton Roads 757 Climate Action Team (CAT).

Become an action team member today!

Virginia Clean Economy Act: A Big Step Forward on Climate Policy

House and Senate Pass “Virginia Clean Economy Act” on Tuesday, Feb 11

By Mike Tidwell

When it comes to clean energy policy, environmental activists nationwide commonly think of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network as true “climate hawks.” We sue polluters. We picket against companies like Dominion Energy. And when the time is right, our lobbying arm CCAN Action Fund, pushes HARD for transformative clean energy laws. Our collective actions over the past 18 years have led Bill McKibben of 350.org to call CCAN “the best regional grassroots climate group in the world.” 

So when I tell you we strongly support the Virginia Clean Economy Act, it’s for one reason: It’s a strong and transformative bill. This legislation, which passed in both the House of Delegates and the Senate on Tuesday, February 11th, will now cross over to be heard in the opposite chamber. The goal is to get it to the Governor’s desk as soon as possible, where he says he wants to sign it.

CUTTING TO THE CHASE: This bill shuts down Dominion’s coal-fired power plants in a HURRY. It brings a tidal wave of wind and solar power to Virginia. And it protects low-income ratepayers with ironclad provisions.

Both House and Senate versions of the VCEA would effectively shut down ALL of Dominion’s coal plants by 2030. All of Virginia’s utility-owned gas plants – all of them – would shut down by 2045,  but probably much sooner under this legislation. At the same time, the House and Senate bills will midwife the largest offshore wind farms in the nation and turbo charge the spread of both distributed rooftop solar power and properly sited solar farms. Both bills invest half a BILLION dollars in energy efficiency gains for low-income households over the next decade. And they cap the electric bills of low-income families at a guaranteed sustainable level, a game-changing move. Finally, despite the understandable suspicion (given history) that Dominion would only agree to a bill that gouges ratepayers, these bills contain bill-lowering competition for solar and wind projects that will keep prices down. The House bill, meanwhile, has even stronger mandates for energy efficiency gains to protect consumers. 

WHO SUPPORTS THE BILL?

Before digging into the bill in greater depth, keep in mind that the Virginia Clean Economy Act is supported by the biggest clean energy coalition ever assembled not just in Virginia but perhaps in the nation. I say this from experience working across the mid-Atlantic and in much of the rest of the country. It is a sign of the times and a sign of the extraordinary work done in Virginia that virtually every major environmental group in the state, all the wind and solar companies operating in the state, and yes the main electricity polluters – Dominion and Appalachian Power Company – support either the Senate version of the bill or the House version. (Both bills make strong progress and will have a hearing in the opposite chamber soon). The supporters are too many to name here but they include Sierra Club, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, CCAN Action Fund, Southern Environmental Law Center, Sigora Solar, Orsted wind, and many progressively run corporations in the state like the Mars candy company and Akamai Technologies. This type of coalition is unprecedented in a southern coal state, for sure, but virtually unheard of anywhere in the country. Again, for critics who suspect Dominion is just gaming the system with another anti-consumer bad energy bill, you would have to believe that all of the groups – including mine – have been deceived after weeks of negotiations and careful bill writing. The truth: these groups support the bill because the net positive effect is tremendous for Virginia.

lobby day rally

250 people came to Richmond to lobby for the VCEA in January.

A DEEPER DIVE INTO WHAT THE VCEA DOES: 

Creates New Ratepayer Protections to Keep Bills Low

The Virginia Clean Economy Act would provide half a billion dollars in home weatherization funds for low-income households. It requires half of the funds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to help low-income residents invest in efficiency to keep bills low. The other half will go towards flooding assistance, with about $250 million earmarked for low-income communities. 

The VCEA also creates Virginia’s first binding energy efficiency savings targets. Now, Dominion Energy will have to prove that their customers are using 5% less energy over a 2019 baseline by 2025. The savings target for ApCo is 2% of current load by 2025. 

It also includes additional provisions to keep bills low for clean energy projects. On offshore wind, the bill requires Dominion to hold a competitive bidding process to find the company that will build the turbines for the best price. There’s also a cost ceiling to keep the cost of electricity low. 

On solar, the bill will allow for up to 35% of the solar required in this bill to be owned by third party companies (i.e., not Dominion). This will allow for more competitive pricing on electricity from solar power. It also would utilize the “Percentage of Income Payment Plan” (PIPP) to cap energy bills for low-income ratepayers at a guaranteed affordable level. 

Creates a Renewable Portfolio Standard

A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a state law that requires utilities to deliver a specified amount of renewable energy such as wind and solar to their customers. The VCEA requires 100% clean electricity by 2045 for Dominion Energy and 2050 for Appalachian Power Company (ApCo), with a benchmark of 30% renewable by 2030. Renewable energy is defined as electricity from wind, solar, falling water, and other in-state resources. For Dominion, 75% of all renewable energy must come from the Commonwealth in 2025 and beyond.

This bill creates the only mandatory RPS with a target of 100% clean energy in the South and one of the stronger versions of the law of any state in the country, putting the state within shouting distance of leading states like Maryland. 

Expands Wind and Solar Energy

The VCEA would launch the largest offshore wind farms in America while turbo-charging the state’s solar industry. It establishes offshore wind as a substantial portion of the RPS as offshore wind comes online, and deploys 5,200MW by 2034, making Virginia a leader in offshore wind. It also includes labor provisions to require the use of local labor.

For distributed solar, it establishes rooftop solar as a portion of the RPS up to 1% annually beginning in 2021. It increases the cap on power purchase agreements to 500MW in Dominion territory and 40MW in ApCo service territories. It expands net metering by increasing the net metering cap to 6%, including 1% specifically set aside for low-to-moderate income communities, and allows larger projects to net meter. It also requires utilities to develop more than 16,000MW of renewable energy by 2035, equivalent to enough electricity for 3 million homes.

Key to the success of offshore wind and solar power is energy storage. The VCEA sets targets for energy storage of 3,100MW by 2035, including 2,700MW for Dominion and 400MW for ApCo. It also requires 10% of energy storage projects to be deployed directly “behind the meter” for power backups at hospitals, government facilities, and more.

Ends Fossil Fuel Emissions 

The Virginia Clean Economy Act would shut down virtually all of Dominion’s coal-fired power plants by 2030, all biomass facilities by December 31, 2028 and the rest of the state’s fossil fuel power plants by 2045. This makes us the only state in the South with a mandate to shut down all fossil fuels. 

While this House Bill does not create an outright moratorium on new fossil fuel development, it serves as a de facto moratorium on carbon-intensive electricity in Virginia by mandating a carbon-free grid by 2045 with exceptional interim goals by 2030. It also requires the Secretaries of Natural Resources and Commerce & Trade to report recommendations on how to achieve 100% carbon free electricity and fossil-fuel retirements. It bars the State Corporation Commission (SCC) from issuing new permits for power plants powered by fossil fuels until that study is received by the General Assembly.

Finally, it deters any utility spending on projects that do not help lower energy usage. Dominion will have to prove that they are meeting energy efficiency targets to lower overall energy usage before they are allowed to construct any new power plants powered by fossil fuels. 

Advance Environmental Justice 

Justice is incorporated into every aspect of the VCEA.  

The ratepayer protection provisions were laid out above. Further, the bill requires the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the Environmental Justice council to prepare a report to ensure VCEA doesn’t disproportionately burden minority and historically-disadvantaged communities. It includes language to ensure reliability is protected. And it sets the policy of the Commonwealth to consider low-income areas & historically disadvantaged communities when considering new renewable projects, energy programs, and job training. Finally, it requires utilities to consult with the Clean Energy Advisory Board on how best to inform low-income customers about their solar options.

Summary: 

This bill is not the end for the climate fight. We will have to come back for transportation, agriculture, and more, until every sector of the economy is in line with the science. But the facts speak for themselves: This bill will hold Dominion dramatically accountable on rates and fossil fuels emissions. This is the best first step on climate a state has ever taken.

Happy CCAN Virginia team after the bill passed the House.