Abigail Spanberger Is A Climate & Clean Energy Champion
Last Updated: 10/23/25
Abigail Spanberger, who represented Virginia’s 7th congressional district from 2019 – 2025, was elected as governor of Virginia in November 2025. In Congress, Spanberger championed conservation efforts and pushed to center farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers in the fight against climate change. She cosponsored legislation to expand eligibility for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to farmers and rural electric cooperatives, supported climate stewardship programs on over 100 million acres of farmland and 83,000 farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and celebrated federal investments in Virginia that created thousands of clean energy jobs and new business opportunities.
In her campaign for Virginia governor, Spanberger made clean energy and lowering utility bills a top priority. She released plans to expand clean energy generation, such as offshore wind and solar power, speed up timelines to bring clean energy projects onto the grid, and work with utilities to expand energy bill assistance programs to lower costs for Virginians. Spanberger has also committed to rejoining Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Spanberger Is A Clean Energy Champion
- In June 2025, Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign released an energy plan, which focused on technologies like solar energy and battery storage:
- Spanberger vowed to work to lower energy costs by speeding up the timelines for bringing new electricity generation projects onto the grid.
- Spanberger pledged to work with utilities to expand bill assistance programs, including Virginia’s Percentage of Income Payment program.
- Spanberger called to make sure data centers pay their fair share of the cost of new electricity generation and encouraged clean energy for generation and storage at data centers.
- To reduce energy bills and wasted energy, Spanberger supported maximizing energy-efficient measures, including home weatherization.
- Spanberger pledged to address regulatory issues to speed up the construction of new energy projects to drive down costs.
- In her 2025 gubernatorial campaign, Spanberger routinely highlighted her plan to lower energy costs and increase clean energy generation in Virginia:
- During an October 2025 rally in Charlottesville, Spanberger emphasized lowering energy costs as a top priority and noted the challenges that high energy costs created for people who wanted to live in or start a business in Virginia.
- In an October 2025 interview, Spanberger said she wanted Virginia to become more energy independent and develop “technologies of the future” to lower energy costs.
- Spanberger supported expanding clean energy in Virginia under the Commonwealth’s Clean Economy Act:
- In a 2025 Cardinal News candidate questionnaire, Spanberger said she was “committed to the long-term goals of the Clean Economy Act.”
- Spanberger advocated for continuing to develop Virginia’s offshore wind industry.
- Spanberger argued that Virginia could do more on energy storage and energy efficiency than originally outlined in the VCEA.
- Spanberger said Virginia needed to “be much more aggressive in building new clean energy generation” and “lead the way on developing new clean energy technology” to meet rising energy demand.
- In a September 2025 interview with VPM, Spanberger said she supported the Virginia Clean Economy Act, but noted that updates could be made to support battery storage and increased energy generation in the state.
- In a 2025 Cardinal News candidate questionnaire, Spanberger said she was “committed to the long-term goals of the Clean Economy Act.”
- Spanberger centered rising energy and utility costs in several of her gubernatorial campaign ads:
- In a June 2025 campaign ad, Spanberger said she routinely hears from Virginians who worry about the impact that data centers have on energy costs. The same ad said a Spanberger administration would be “focused on making energy bills cheaper.”
- In an August 2025 campaign ad, Spanberger cited energy costs as a challenge for Virginia families.
- A Spanish-language radio ad from the Spanberger campaign said that the price of electricity was rising, and warned that it would rise even more if Winsome Earle-Sears were elected.
- In an August 2025 campaign ad, Spanberger said that Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act “raises the price of electricity and gas.”
- Spanberger advocated for a statewide strategy to ensure Virginia planned for data centers’ energy needs while not increasing Virginians’ utility costs:
- As part of her gubernatorial campaign’s energy plan, Spanberger called for data centers to pay their fair share of the cost of new electricity generation.
- As part of her gubernatorial campaign’s energy plan, Spanberger also encouraged clean energy for generation and storage at data centers.
- In an August 2025 statement, Spanberger reiterated that Virginia could benefit from data centers but stressed the need to plan for the energy resources they need.
- In a July 2025 interview, Spanberger said she believed Virginia needed a statewide data center strategy to support job creation and work with developers on power generation and its related costs.
- In a March 2025 interview, Spanberger acknowledged Virginia could benefit from having data centers but called for a statewide plan to ensure localities had a “best practices standard” for utility rates to make sure data centers were “paying their fair share.”
- During the October 2025 Virginia Gubernatorial Debate, Spanberger said it was important for data centers to “pay their fair share.”
- In an October 2025 interview with Loudoun Now, Spanberger said the state needed to plan for the energy and water resources used by data centers to ensure they would not drive up energy bills for consumers.
- During an October 2025 rally in Charlottesville, Spanberger noted the importance of balancing the benefits of data centers with the energy generation, water, and other resources needed to support them, and said she would work to meet the energy demand of data centers without driving up energy costs.
- Spanberger supported clean energy expansion and the jobs it creates, including offshore wind projects targeted by the Trump administration:
- As part of her gubernatorial campaign’s energy plan, Spanberger vowed to expand clean electricity generation, support the development of Virginia’s offshore wind industry, and deploy solar energy projects.
- During a campaign rally in June 2025, Spanberger said that Virginians were struggling to keep up with high energy bills and touted her plan to lower energy costs and put Virginia on a path to being a “nationwide leader in building the energy solutions of the future.”
- In August 2025, Spanberger told Inside Climate News that solar projects must be encouraged, along with an offshore wind project by Dominion Energy (which was stalled by the Trump administration).
- Spanberger on clean energy jobs: “Whether it’s in the construction and manufacturing installation, those jobs should be right here in Virginia. Those industries should be right here in Virginia.”
- In a September 2025 interview with VPM, Spanberger said she would implement a statewide strategy to recognize sites that would be appealing to solar energy developers, including abandoned mine sites and non-agricultural lands, to support solar growth in the Commonwealth.
- During the October 2025 Virginia Gubernatorial Debate, Spanberger said she wanted to see Virginia become more energy independent and become a global leader in energy development.
- Spanberger criticized the Trump administration for cutting funding for clean energy projects in Virginia and causing energy costs to increase:
- During the October 2025 Virginia Gubernatorial Debate, Spanberger said the Trump administration had taken “millions and millions of dollars of energy investments away from Virginia.”
- In a September 2025 interview with The Hill, Spanberger said that rising energy costs would only get worse because of Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
- In a September 2025 op-ed, Spanberger criticized the Trump Administration’s withdrawal of funding for the Norfolk Wind Project, saying, “The Trump Administration’s sledgehammer approach to governing is hurting Virginia — from firing thousands of federal workers to slashing federal funds for critical projects across our Commonwealth. Not only is the Fairwinds Landing project set up to support Virginia’s nation-leading offshore wind industry, but also to create hundreds of new jobs and bring economic growth to Hampton Roads and communities across Coastal Virginia.”
- In Congress, Spanberger fought to secure funding for Virginians to install clean energy systems and adopt energy efficiency measures:
- Spanberger cosponsored the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Improvement Act of 2021, which expanded program eligibility to include agricultural producer cooperatives and rural electric cooperatives, and increased REAP funding levels. Spanberger said the legislation would improve farmers’ bottom lines and “build on their existing efforts to combat the climate crisis.”
- Spanberger cosponsored similar legislation in 2023.
- Spanberger cosponsored the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Improvement Act of 2021, which expanded program eligibility to include agricultural producer cooperatives and rural electric cooperatives, and increased REAP funding levels. Spanberger said the legislation would improve farmers’ bottom lines and “build on their existing efforts to combat the climate crisis.”
- Spanberger supported federal investments in clean energy, including the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and highlighted their benefits for Virginia:
- Spanberger touted the benefits of federal clean energy investments, specifically the growth in manufacturing and clean energy jobs and the creation of new businesses.
- Spanberger has not accepted money from Dominion during the 2025 election cycle. Clean Virginia stated that Spanberger has “taken a principled stance against accepting donations from publicly regulated utility monopolies.”
Spanberger Supports Climate And Pollution Protections For Virginia’s Air And Water
- Spanberger has supported the U.S. and Virginia’s involvement in the RGGI and Paris Climate Agreement:
- As part of her energy plan, Spanberger said she would work to negotiate the best ratepayer deal for Virginians when rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). She also proposed using the RGGI revenue for energy efficiency projects.
- In August 2025, Spanberger told the Virginia Mercury that she would return Virginia to the RGGI, which generated funding to help with flooding mitigation and other resiliency projects in the Commonwealth.
- In a December 2024 interview with the Virginia Scope, Spanberger said “As we’re seeing some some real devastation in Virginia, recognizing that in a future where we rejoin RGGI, it’s not only important to the goal of reducing our state’s emissions and meeting some clean energy goals, which are incredibly important, but it’s also unbelievably valuable for our ability to use this revenue to make investments in our community.”
- In 2021, Spanberger celebrated the U.S. rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, saying it was “advancing U.S. security and prosperity, standing with our allies worldwide, and demonstrating that the United States is a committed leader in the fight against climate change.”
- Spanberger supported sustainable farming and conservation efforts on public lands and waterways:
- On her gubernatorial campaign website, Spanberger pledged to “prioritize protecting Virginia’s public lands — while maintaining hunting and fishing opportunities for Virginia families.”
- In a September 2025 statement, a spokesperson for Spanberger said she had met with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and pledged to “make sure conservation efforts are working as intended, and that businesses are following the law.”
- Spanberger’s spokesperson said she supported investing in sustainable farming programs by “strengthening voluntary, state-level programs to help Virginia farmers and producers reduce runoff and improve water quality.”
- In Congress, Spanberger worked to mitigate climate change by making it more accessible for farmers and agricultural producers to be involved in climate-smart practices:
- In 2021, Spanberger fought to keep climate-smart agriculture provisions in the Build Back Better Act, saying that for the U.S. to meet its climate goals, it was “essential” to enlist the help of farmers, producers, ranchers, and forestland owners.
- In 2021, Spanberger cosponsored the Climate Stewardship Act, which supported voluntary climate stewardship practices on over 100 million acres of farmland, planted billions of trees to revive deforested landscapes, reestablished the Civilian Climate Corps, restored over two million acres of coastal wetlands, and invested in renewable energy for farmers and rural small businesses.
- In 2022, Spanberger successfully passed her “Growing Climate Solutions Act,” which made carbon markets more accessible to farmers and agricultural producers. She said the legislation would help “farmers, ranchers, and foresters embrace smart practices that are good for the land and good for their bottom lines.”
- Spanberger successfully fought to include the largest investment in conservation programs since the Dust Bowl in the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Spanberger recognized the threat of climate change and its role in increasing and worsening extreme weather events:
- In 2021, Spanberger said, “The climate crisis poses a serious national security threat, exacerbates conflict and instability, increases the frequency and severity of life-threatening extreme weather and natural disasters, contributes to food and water insecurity, and perpetuates poverty. The lives of those across Central Virginia, the country, and the world are afflicted by climate change.”
- In 2019, Spanberger discussed the importance of conservation efforts to mitigate climate change and extreme weather, saying, “Extreme weather events such historic snowfall and flooding in the Midwest, destructive hurricanes across the Southeast, and devasting wildfires in the West lend urgency to conservation efforts.”
- In Congress, Spanberger worked to accelerate conservation efforts as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force:
- In 2023, Spanberger cosponsored the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2023, which boosted voluntary conservation efforts on the 83,000 farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to improve water quality, increase soil health, and provide economic benefits.
- Spanberger celebrated federal investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law into Chesapeake Bay protection and restoration efforts, saying the Bay was “vital to Virginia’s economy and environment.”