On April 28, 2009, Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. established the Mayor's Alternative Energy Task Force (Task Force).
The charge to the Task Force was to review existing needs for energy in Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth in general, and to evaluate alternative sources of energy to satisfy these needs now and in the future.
The overarching mission of the Task Force was to develop goals, strategies, and objectives to reduce Virginia Beach's, the Commonwealth's and the nation's reliance on foreign sources of energy, and to assure adequate future sources of energy to meet domestic needs. The Mayor's Alternative Energy Task Force conducted a series of meetings in pursuit of this goal. A final meeting was held on August 5, 2010 where the Task Force officially forwarded its recommendations to the Mayor and City Council for consideration. On September 7, 2010, the Mayor's Alternative Energy Task Force Report was adopted.