Virginia Taps NASA Weather Data for Energy Plan

The Virginia Department of Energy will use four decades of NASA weather records to inform state energy modeling and legislation.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Forecasts

Weathered satellite dish on a grassy rise in rolling farmland beneath a hazy sky, with forested ridges and a utility pole in the distance. — The Virginia Department of Energy has entered a no-cost partnership with NASA Langley Research Center to use four decades of weather records in state energy planning. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Virginia Department of Energy entered a no-cost partnership with NASA Langley Research Center to integrate weather and climate data into energy planning. The data stretches back to the early 1980s and provides hourly estimates of sunlight, temperatures, humidities, and winds across the state.

Why it matters

Heat waves and cold snaps drive up electricity consumption, and the reliability of solar and wind energy is closely tied to weather conditions. Access to long-term weather records allows Virginia to plan for grid supply and demand more precisely as power needs grow.

The data covers hourly sunlight, temperature, humidity, and wind estimates from the early 1980s onward, largely derived from satellites that estimate cloud cover and surface sunlight. How these records will alter specific grid forecasts has not yet been detailed.

The players

Virginia Department of Energy

The state agency responsible for energy planning and policy in Virginia, which is building forecasting models for grid supply and demand.

NASA Langley Research Center

A NASA research facility in Hampton, Virginia, that provides the satellite-derived weather and climate data used in the partnership.

Abigail Spanberger

The governor of Virginia, who released the state's first Energy Plan outlining pathways to meet growing power demand and clean energy goals.

The details

Much of the NASA data comes from satellites that continually estimate cloud cover and sunlight at the Earth's surface. The department's modeling includes forecasting electric grid supply and demand, including factors such as data centers.

The NASA data record begins in the early 1980s and spans four decades.
The Department of Energy began in-house energy modeling two years ago.
The next version of Virginia's Energy Plan, in 2028, will continue to use this forecasting.

Seasonal Patterns

Virginia's first Energy Plan, released by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, sets out pathways to meet growing power demand. Four decades of NASA weather records give the state a long-term baseline against which heat waves and cold snaps can be measured for future planning.

Residents should expect that electricity demand and grid reliability planning will increasingly reflect heat waves, cold snaps, and the variable output of solar and wind. Changes to utility planning in Virginia may eventually affect power costs and supply during extreme weather.

The takeaway

Long-term weather records are becoming a core input for state energy planning, since reliable power depends on how conditions shift over time. Virginia's partnership shows how public agencies can use existing federal data at no cost to plan for growing demand.

What happens next

The forecasting approach will be carried into the 2028 version of Virginia's Energy Plan, and officials plan to use the findings to inform potential legislation and work with electric utilities.