News

As Virginia's 60-day legislative session begins, Canary Media reports that clean energy is emerging as a key strategy to help combat rising electricity costs and reliability concerns. United's Jim Purekal spoke to the benefits of one proposal, the Facilitating Access to Surplus Transmission (FAST) Act, noting that the legislation would utilize capacity on existing transmission lines and speed up interconnection of advanced energy solutions, increasing affordability and energy capacity statewide.

The Center Square reports on the election outcomes in New Jersey and Virginia, where Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger won their gubernatorial races. United's Virginia Director Jim Purekal and New Jersey Policy Lead Katie Mettle highlighted the future governors' focus on lowering energy prices through clean energy as a key component of their victories.

PV Magazine reports on the election results from Virginia and New Jersey, with a specific focus on unlocking new clean energy opportunities by making better use of existing interconnection capacity. United’s Virginia Director Jim Purekal emphasized that Virginia must make the most of existing energy resources to meet rising load growth, while United’s New Jersey Policy Lead Katie Mettle highlighted the need for siting and permitting reforms to get more projects online faster.

In Virginia, it's more important than ever to quickly build and site new energy projects in the wake of H.R. 1, which could slow the pace of investment and development in critically needed initiatives. WHRO spoke with industry experts, including United’s Jim Purekal, who urged state leaders to keep costs low for ratepayers and highlighted solar as the most cost-effective form of energy generation available.

In an opinion piece for the Virginia Mercury, United's Jim Purekal underscores the importance of federal tax credits in modernizing Hampton Roads' energy systems, lowering electricity costs for residents, and bolstering energy security across the region. He calls on policymakers to safeguard these incentives going forward, which are essential to developing advanced energy projects and maintaining an affordable, reliable, and secure energy future for Virginians. 

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed two bipartisan clean energy bills that aimed to expand small solar projects and energy storage across the state. Inside Climate News spoke with several clean energy experts and advocates, including United's Jim Purekal, who stated that the veto was a missed opportunity to increase grid reliability, reduce costs for ratepayers, and bolster energy security across the state.