Virginia Code Title 45.2. Mines, Minerals, and Energy § 45.2-1720. Powers and duties of the Authority

1. Adopt, use, and alter at will an official seal;

2. Make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs;

3. Maintain an office at any place within the Commonwealth it designates;

4. Accept, hold, and administer moneys, grants, securities, or other property transferred, given, or bequeathed to the Authority, absolutely or in trust, from any source, public or private, for the purposes for which the Authority is established;

5. Make and execute contracts and all other instruments and agreements necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions, including executing contracts and all other instruments and agreements that the Authority deems necessary with the nonprofit collaborative;

6. Employ, in its discretion, consultants, attorneys, architects, engineers, accountants, financial experts, investment bankers, superintendents, managers, and any other employees and agents necessary and fix their compensation to be payable from funds made available to the Authority;

7. Invest its funds as permitted by applicable law;

8. Receive and accept from any federal or private agency, foundation, corporation, association, or person grants, donations of money, or real or personal property for the benefit of the Authority, and receive and accept from the Commonwealth or any other state, from any municipality, county, or other political subdivision thereof, or from any other source, aid or contributions of either money, property, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied for the purposes for which such grants and contributions may be made;

9. Enter into agreements with any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or of the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and with lenders and enter into loans with contracting parties for the purpose of conducting research and development, energy project development, and planning, regulating, and providing for the financing or leasing or assisting in the financing or leasing of any project;

10. Do any lawful act necessary or appropriate to carry out the powers granted or reasonably implied in this article;

11. Leverage the strength in energy workforce and energy technology research and development of the Commonwealth's public and private institutions of higher education;

12. Support energy development projects generally, including pump storage hydropower, energy storage, hydrogen production and uses, carbon capture and storage, geothermal energy, and advanced wind and solar energy;

13. Promote energy development projects on closed power plant sites, brownfield sites, former coal mine sites, reclaimed coal mine sites, abandoned mine lands, and lands adjacent thereto;

14. Promote energy workforce development and energy supply chain development;

15. Assist energy technology research and development by, among other actions, promoting the development of a Southwest Virginia Energy Park;

16. Identify and work with the Commonwealth's industries and nonprofit partners and, through mutually agreed collaborations, the Commonwealth's research and development partners, in advancing efforts related to energy development in Southwest Virginia; and

17. Promote the capture and beneficial use of coal mine methane from active, inactive, and abandoned coal mines as a low-carbon intensity feedstock for manufacturing and energy generation projects located in Southwest Virginia.