Bill Text: VA SB1464 | 2023 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Virginia Power Innovation Fund and Program; created.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-24 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0505) [SB1464 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2023-SB1464-Engrossed.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 45.2 an article numbered 9, consisting of a section numbered 45.2-1734, as follows:
§45.2-1734. Virginia Power Innovation Fund and Program.
A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special
nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia Power Innovation Fund, referred
to in this section as "the Fund," that shall be administered by the
Department. The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All
amounts appropriated and such other funds as may be made available to the fund
from any other source, public or private, shall be paid into the state treasury
and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in
the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including
interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the
general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used
solely for the purposes of research and development of innovative energy
technologies, including [ nuclear, ] hydrogen, carbon
capture and utilization, and energy storage. Expenditures and disbursements
from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the
Comptroller upon written request signed by the Director.
B. The Virginia Power Innovation Program is hereby
established for the purpose of (i) establishing a Virginia [ nuclear
energy ] innovation hub from such funds as may be available from the
Fund and (ii) awarding grants on a competitive basis from such funds as may be
available from the Fund to support energy innovation. The Program shall be
administered by the Department. In administering the Program, the Department
shall [ , in collaboration with the Virginia Nuclear Energy
Consortium, ] establish and publish guidelines and criteria for
disbursement deployment of funds pursuant to clause (i), including providing
grants to support higher education research on advanced [ nuclear
energy ] technologies [ and advanced reactor technologies
] , to fund [ nuclear ] energy workforce development
programming, and to assist with site selection for future [ small
modular reactor innovative energy ] projects in Virginia. In
administering the Program, the Department shall, in collaboration with the
Secretary of Commerce and Trade, establish and publish guidelines and criteria
for disbursement of funds pursuant to clause (ii). The Department shall oversee
each grant awarded through the Program and ensure thorough reporting on each
such grant.