Electric utilities; accelerated renewable energy buyers, zero-carbon electricity.

Document header changed from 'HOUSE SUBSTITUTE' with House Committee date (January 23, 2025) to 'GOVERNOR SUBSTITUTE' with Governor date (March 24, 2025), indicating the bill moved from House approval to Governor's approval stage.

Added document number '25108162D' and changed the bill type designation from House Substitute to Governor Substitute in the header section.

Minor formatting changes including line breaks and spacing adjustments in the document header section, but no substantive policy content was altered.

Formatting and layout changes including removal of Enrolled chapter headers and addition of House Substitute metadata, line numbering, and document identification information.

Text reorganization with line breaks and spacing adjustments throughout the document, particularly in the definitions section and compliance schedule tables.

Mandates retirement of all coal-fired generating units by December 31, 2024, with exceptions for certain biomass co-firing facilities and coalfield region Phase II utilities.

Requires Phase I utilities to construct or acquire 600 megawatts of solar or onshore wind capacity by 2035, with 35% procured from non-utility sources.

Requires Phase II utilities to construct or acquire 16,100 megawatts of solar/onshore wind capacity and up to 5,200 megawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2035.

Mandates Phase I utilities to build 400 megawatts and Phase II utilities to build 2,700 megawatts of energy storage capacity by December 31, 2035.

Establishes deficiency payment obligations of $45 per megawatt-hour (increasing 1% annually) for utilities failing to meet RPS requirements, with $75 per megawatt-hour for small solar/wind projects.

Requires utilities to procure equipment from Virginia or US-based manufacturers using materials made in Virginia or the US for projects constructed under the new requirements.

Sets escalating RPS compliance requirements from 6% in 2021 to 100% by 2045 for Phase I and Phase II utilities, requiring procurement and retirement of Renewable Energy Certificates from eligible renewable sources.

Creates 'accelerated renewable energy buyer' exemption for large commercial/industrial customers over 25 megawatts, exempting them from non-bypassable RPS compliance costs while allowing them to contract for renewable energy directly.

Directs deficiency payment revenues to job training in disadvantaged communities (50%), energy efficiency for public facilities (16%), renewable energy programs in disadvantaged communities (30%), and administrative costs (4%).

Defines 'zero-carbon electricity' to exclude hydrogen-fueled resources unless hydrogen is produced using only zero-carbon electricity, and excludes co-firing hydrogen and natural gas facilities.