The first wave of Virginia’s carbon taxes under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) came in at twice the estimates — $43.6 million. Lawmakers in Virginia must now determine how to spend the money The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an 11-state agreement that puts a price on the carbon emissions that are driving climate change, requires power plants to pay that price and then channels the proceeds back to the states. This means power companies have to raise consumers’ electric bills to cover the tax increase on their power plants.
Virginia has $43 million in carbon market revenues. How is it going to spend it?