The 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) requires the Virginia Department of Energy (Virginia Energy) to report every three years as to whether the VCEA imposes a disproportionate burden on Historically Economically Disadvantaged Communities (HEDC). Per the legislation:

That beginning September 1, 2022, and every three years thereafter, the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders, shall determine whether implementation of this act imposes a disproportionate burden on historically economically disadvantaged communities, as defined in § 56-576 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, and shall report by January 1, 2023, and every three years thereafter, to the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor and to the Council on Environmental Justice.

In its 2022 assessment, Virginia Energy determined that there was insufficient data available to make a meaningful assessment of the VCEA’s impacts at that time. The lead time required to plan and develop projects associated with the VCEA meant that key implications of the legislation, including effects on health, economics, and other relevant factors, had not materialized at that time. Therefore, a 2022 report was not published due to a lack of meaningful evidence.

In 2023, 955 of Virginia’s 2,169 census tracts were HEDC eligible based on either low-income or community of color criteria. This represents a slight decrease from 2022, when 993 census tracts met the criteria. The total population residing within HEDC eligible tracts in 2023 was 3,760,928, around 43% of Virginia’s population.