John McAuliff

Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger signed a bill defining agrivoltaics, which combines solar energy production with active farming. The initiative aims to provide farmers with supplemental income, reduce energy costs, and supply clean power while keeping land in agricultural use. The bill addresses concerns about farmland being sold for development or solar arrays.

NextEra Energy's $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy would create a major utility serving 10 million customers across four states, but faces regulatory hurdles due to growing public and political opposition to data centers that consume significant electricity. The deal requires approval from at least six regulators including state utility commissioners in Virginia, where local politicians from both parties have opposed further data center expansion citing concerns about rising electricity costs.