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Tag: energy

Qatar Investment Authority invests $125M in Arlington company

Arlington-based energy storage provider Fluence announced last week that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will invest $125 million in the company.

Fluence is a joint venture of Arlington-based energy company AES Corp. and industrial manufacturing giant Siemens. The company will use the investment to develop digital products and deploy existing products to additional global markets. AES and Siemens will continue as major shareholders, each with approximately a 44% stake in the company.

“We see energy storage as the linchpin of a decarbonized grid and adding QIA to our international shareholder base will allow Fluence to innovate even faster and address the enormous global market for large-scale battery-based energy storage,” Fluence CEO Manuel Perez Dubuc said in a statement. 

The QIA is one of six founding members of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Initiative, which focuses on climate change issues related to financial decisions.

“We believe energy storage will play a key role in delivering cleaner, more sustainable and more resilient electric grids around the world,” QIA CEO Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud said in a statement. “This investment further underpins our commitment to responsible investing for a low-carbon future.”

Fluence has more than 2.4 gigawatts of projects in operation or awarded across 24 countries and territories worldwide.

 

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Dominion files construction, operations plan for $7.8B offshore wind farm

Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. announced Friday it has filed the required construction and operations plan (COP) with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to build the utility’s proposed $7.8 billion, 2,640-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.

“This is an important step in the process toward bringing commercial-scale offshore wind to the commonwealth and shows Dominion Energy is committed to delivering the clean, renewable and reliable energy our customers expect from us,” Joshua Bennett, Dominion Energy’s vice president of offshore wind, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as the CVOW commercial project moves through the permitting process.”

Under the CVOW project, Dominion will erect 180 to 190 wind turbines, each 800 feet tall, 27 miles off the Coast of Virginia beach by 2026. When complete, the project will be capable providing enough to power 660,000 homes during peak winds. Construction is expected to begin in 2024.

Dominion announced on Dec. 16 that construction has begun on its oceangoing vessel, the Charybdis, which will ferry construction materials and workers for the project, as well as assisting with installing and raising the wind farm’s turbines.

The COP includes construction, operations and conceptual decommissioning information and plans for the wind farm to be installed within the 112,800-acre commercial lease area off the coast of Virginia Beach, which Dominion Energy acquired rights to in 2013. 

In the COP filing, Dominion states that it designed and sited the CVOW project in a manner that protects natural resources, the environment and human and wildlife health, citing survey data. Dominion also states that the project does not interfere with other uses of the outer continental shelf, such as commercial and recreational fishing, commercial shipping lanes and military training exercises.

In October, Dominion announced that its two turbine, 12-megawatt, $300 million CVOW pilot project successfully completed reliability testing.

The entire CVOW commercial project is tracking to start being constructed in 2024 and completed in 2026. At its completion, it will provide enough energy for up to 660,000 homes.

During the next six years, construction on Dominion’s proposed offshore wind farm expansion will create an estimated 900 jobs and $143 million in economic impact annually during construction and 1,100 jobs and almost $210 million in economic impact annually during operation of the turbines. 

 

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Amazon announces investment in two more solar farms in Halifax County

Part of a global renewable energy purchase, Amazon.com Inc. announced Thursday it will invest in two more Halifax County solar farms, in addition to a deal announced in March that is expected to come online in 2021.

The two new solar farms, which are expected to provide 70 megawatts and 51 megawatts of power by 2022, according to an Amazon map, are located in Powell’s Creek, in the southern part of the county, and Sunnybrook, northeast of South Boston. The projects will be the 13th and 14th Amazon solar farms in Virginia; others under development and in operation are in Accomack, Buckingham, Frederick, Gloucester, New Kent, Pittsylvania, Powhatan, Prince George, Southampton and Sussex counties.

Halifax County supervisors approved the Sunnybrook and Powell’s Creek projects in April 2018. Both projects were submitted by developer Carolina Solar Energy, a Durham, North Carolina-based solar company. Amazon invested in a 65-megawatt solar project in South Boston in March, with the global online retailer saying the project will provide renewable energy capacity to the grids that supply its data centers.

Amazon announced 26 new utility-scale wind and solar energy projects around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S. on Thursday, expanding its 2020 renewable energy investment to 35 projects offering more than 4 gigawatts of capacity. The company says it’s the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year.

Amazon has pledged to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2025 and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. The company currently holds a total of 127 renewable energy projects worldwide.

“Amazon is helping fight climate change by moving quickly to power our businesses with renewable energy,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “This is just one of the many steps we’re taking that will help us meet our climate pledge. I couldn’t be more proud of all the teams across Amazon that continue to work hard, smart and fast to get these projects up and running.”

Amazon’s footprint in Virginia has expanded significantly in the past two years, with the 2018 announcement that it would establish its East Coast headquarters in Arlington County. Amazon HQ2 is expected to employ 25,000 people by 2030. Currently, the e-tailer is one of the top 10 employers in Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, and it employs about 18,500 people across the commonwealth, where it has 10 fulfillment and sortation center and delivery stations, as well as data centers and operations facilities in the works in Hampton Roads.

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Dominion, Smithfield complete first renewable gas project in Utah

Dominion Energy Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc., both based in Virginia, completed their first renewable natural gas (RNG) project in southwestern Utah, Smithfield announced Wednesday.

In 2018, the Richmond-headquartered utility and Smithfield-based food company partnered in the $500 million Align Renewable Natural Gas joint venture to convert methane from Smithfield’s contracted hog farms into renewable natural gas. Align’s project in Milford, Utah, is the venture’s first large-scale renewable gas-producing effort, involving a network of 26 family farms. At full capacity, the Utah project will produce enough gas to heat more than 3,000 homes and businesses and reduce annual methane emissions by more than 100,000 metric tons, according to Smithfield.

“We’re excited to witness the completion of our initial project in Utah, as we continue to scale and implement renewable energy projects across the country,” Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables and hog production environmental affairs for Smithfield Foods, said in a statement. “Our Align RNG partnership with Dominion Energy is a key component of Smithfield’s carbon reduction strategy, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our domestic supply chain 25%  by 2025 and become carbon negative in all U.S. company-owned operations by 2030.”

By 2030, Align RNG is projected to power approximately 70,000 homes, according to the companies. In Virginia, approximately 20 Smithfield Foods-owned hog farms around Waverly and Wakefield are expected to come online in 2021 and will eventually provide energy to 4,000 homes and businesses. Other farms could be added to the original group or formed into a new cluster.

“This is an exciting breakthrough for the future of clean energy and sustainable farming,” Ryan Childress, Dominion Energy’s director of gas business development, said in a statement. “With this single technology, we can produce clean energy for consumers, reduce farm emissions and benefit family farmers. It’s a powerful example of the environmental progress we can make through innovation. We’re thrilled Utah is leading the way, and we’re excited to keep the momentum going in other states across the country.”

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AES Corp. to sell $1.8B in debt in private offering

Arlington-based energy company AES Corp. announced Thursday its plans to sell $1.8 billion in debt in a private offering to institutional buyers.

The company will offer $800 million in 1.375% senior notes due in 2026 and $1 billion in 2.45% senior notes due in 2031. 

AES intends to allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds from the sale toward one or more eligible green projects, according to the company. AES Corp. will use the net proceeds from the sale to fund purchases of senior notes due in 2025, 2026 and 2027 in tender offers; to fully redeem tender offer notes not tendered in connection with those tender offers; to fully redeem the $65.0 million aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 4.5% notes due 2023 and $63.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 5.5% notes due in 2024; and to pay certain related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes. 

The offering is expected to close on Dec. 4.

Fortune 500 company AES Corp. used to focus the majority of its business on coal, but since 2011 has reduced its coal generating power in favor of greener options, such as solar power.

 

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Shuttered Alexandria power plant making way for mixed-use development

A former coal-fired power plant in Alexandria will become home to a mixed-use development along the Potomac River. 

Chicago-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP), a Hilco Global business unit, announced Monday it purchased the 71-year-old Potomac River Generating Station site, which encompasses approximately 20 acres. HRP acquired the property through an agreement negotiated with Potomac Electric Power Co. (Pepco), which will retain a property interest on part of the site where it will continue to own and operate an electrical substation.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to redevelop the old Potomac River Generating Station site,” HRP CEO Roberto Perez said in a statement. “Hilco Redevelopment Partners is committed to remediating this extraordinary site to the most current environmental standards and transforming it into a new and exciting development that will best serve the community and create economic growth and opportunity for all stakeholders.”

The Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) site, located in the Old Town North neighborhood in Alexandria, was decommissioned in 2012, but remains one of the largest industrial sites in Alexandria. The Alexandria City Council in 2017 approved a plan committing to “creating sustainable and livable communities,” at the site.

“We approach every redevelopment opportunity in a way that is sustainable for the environment, sustainable for the community, and sustainable for jobs,” Perez said in a statement. “Alexandria will be no exception.”

Details of the planned mixed-use development have yet to be released. HRP will work with the city of Alexandria, community partners and stakeholders on plans for the former industrial site.

“We are thrilled to have the chance to re-envision this former industrial site in a manner that is consistent with the Old Town North Small Area Plan and provides for new uses such as housing, commercial office, dining and retail and public open space along the Potomac River and we look forward to working with local officials and stakeholders on the vision,” Melissa Schrock, HRP senior vice president of mixed use development, said in a statement.

 

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Dominion proposes nine new solar projects

Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. proposed a new slate of projects on Monday that would bring nearly 500 megawatts of solar energy to Virginia customers, enough to power around 125,000 homes at peak output.

The proposal, which the utility called “its largest slate yet of new solar projects” in a statement, was submitted for approval by the State Corporation Commission and follows the enactment of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam in April.

Six of the nine new solar projects would generate 416 megawatts of energy at peak output through power purchase agreements that Dominion said followed “a competitive solicitation process”; power purchase agreements are contracts between two parties where one generates electricity and another buys it. According to Dominion, this approach contributes to Virginia’s clean energy economy and fulfills a VCEA requirement of having approximately a third of new solar and onshore wind be procured through power purchase agreements through 2035.

The other three proposed solar projects are utility-owned. Dominion says they are expected to provide over $100 million in direct and indirect economic benefits in Virginia and support approximately 750 jobs. These projects are Grassfield Solar in Chesapeake, Norge Solar in James City County and Sycamore Solar in Pittsylvania County. Each of the facilities is under development and subject to approval by the State Corporation Commission before construction begins.

Grassfield Solar, which was acquired from Solar Access Development Group LLC and Blue Green Energy LLC, would provide 20 MW at peak output. Norge Solar, which was acquired from Clearway Energy Group, would provide 20 MW at peak output. Sycamore Solar, which was acquired from a joint venture between Open Road Renewables LLC and MAP Energy LLC, would provide 42 MW at peak output.

If approved, Dominion says the solar projects would add less than 20 cents to the typical residential electricity bill and be offset in part by fuel savings. The utility says these resources will help it meet the VCEA’s mandatory renewable portfolio standard, which generally requires that 100% of its electricity sales in Virginia be sourced from clean energy resources by 2045.

“This filing is another concrete step toward our commitment to bring more renewable energy to Virginia and build a clean, sustainable future for our customers and our Commonwealth,” said Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy in Virginia. “We are focused on adding significant renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind, over the next 15 years while maintaining our commitment to excellent reliability and delivering an excellent value to our customers.”

Ken Schrad, spokesman for the SCC, said that two recent solar build cases took about six months from the date of application to receive a final order, and that a solar purchase power agreement case took about four months from the date of application to the final order. After a first review by the SCC commission, a scheduling order is issued after about 30 days that lays out the timeline for the case.

Tim Cywinski, spokesman for the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, said that implementing solar developments are generally positive, while stressing the need for oversight of Dominion.

“If implemented with an emphasis on accessibility, solar energy will benefit our health by reducing pollution, our wallets by reducing electric bills, our climate by replacing fossil fuels, and our economy by creating jobs,” he said. “With Dominion’s history of overcharging its captive customers, equitable state oversight by the SCC is paramount.”

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Dominion closes on sale of majority of natural gas assets

Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. announced Monday that it has closed on the sale of the majority of its gas transmission and storage assets to Berkshire Hathaway Energy (a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. affiliate) for approximately $2.7 billion in cash and the transfer of approximately $5.3 billion of related indebtedness.

In July following the cancelation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, Dominion announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell off its gas transmission and storage segment assets for $9.7 billion, including the assumption of  $5.7 billion in existing debt to abandon the pipeline project. The 600-mile, $8 billion-plus natural gas pipeline was supposed to run from West Virginia through Virginia to eastern North Carolina.

The deal announced Monday includes more than 5,500 miles of interstate gas transmission pipelines, approximately 775 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas storage that the company operates and an operating 25% stake in the Cove Point gas liquefaction facility in Maryland.

The sale is expected to be complete in early 2021 following a Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance, which provides the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice information about large acquisitions prior to completion. Dominion has also received an approximate $1.3 billion cash payment in anticipation of the sale of the interests. It will transfer approximately $430 million of related debt to Berkshire Hathaway Energy upon closing. 

Announced in 2014 and originally planned to begin transporting natural gas by late 2019, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was delayed by legal proceedings and opposition from environmental groups and landowners in the pathway of the pipeline’s construction route. On June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that would have allowed the pipeline to cross under the Appalachian Trail, hailed by Dominion and Duke as a major victory toward completing the pipeline, which was identified by the Trump administration as a priority infrastructure project. Before announcing the project’s cancellation, Dominion and Duke Energy Corp. had hoped to put the pipeline into operation by 2022.

The transaction is expected to reduce Dominion Energy’s debt by $6 billion. The company also expects total share repurchases its common stock to be at least $3 billion.

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Va., Md., N.C. governors sign offshore wind collaboration

The governors of Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina on Thursday announced a three-state collaboration to advance offshore wind projects — the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources.

SMART-POWER will work to promote the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions as a hub for offshore wind energy and industry. The three states will work together to promote, develop and expand offshore wind energy as well as industry supply chains and workforce. 

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the Atlantic Coast offshore wind project pipeline will support up to 86,000 jobs, $57 billion in investments and provide up to $25 billion in economic output by 2030.

“Harnessing the power of offshore wind is key to meeting the urgency of the climate crisis and achieving 100% clean energy by 2050,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “Virginia is well-positioned to scale up offshore wind development with a 12-megawatt wind demonstration project already built off our coast. This agreement will help unlock our collective offshore wind resources and generate tremendous economic and environmental benefits for the region. We look forward to working with our partners in Maryland and North Carolina to grow the offshore wind industry and secure a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient future.”

Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina will form a leadership team composed of representatives from each signatory jurisdiction who will work to streamline regional offshore wind resource development.

“This bipartisan agreement with neighboring states allows us to leverage our combined economic power and ideas to achieve cost effective success,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement.

Under the SMART-POWER agreement, the three states will work to increase regulatory certainty, encourage manufacturing of component costs, reduce costs via supply chain development, share best practices and develop relationship between industry and and the signatory jurisdictions.

“Joining this multistate partnership to expand offshore wind development will further our strong record of supporting responsible energy projects that provide jobs, clean air benefits, and energy independence,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement. 

Virginia is emerging as a leader in offshore wind technology, with the $300 million, two-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project launched this summer by Dominion Energy Inc., 27 miles off Virginia Beach. In October, the company announced it had successfully completed reliability testing. The pilot is just the first stage in Dominion’s plan to build the largest offshore wind farm in the nation, with 180 to 190 turbines planned to be erected in federal waters off Virginia’s coast by 2026. When complete, the $7.8 billion project is expected to generate 2,600 megawatts of zero-carbon electricity, enough to power 650,000 homes during peak winds.

 

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Dominion launches electric school bus program

Earlier this week, Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. and Evington-based bus dealer Sonny Merryman Inc. rolled out the first Jouley electric school buses as part of the Dominion Energy Electric School Bus Program. 

“Once again, Virginia is leading the way in promoting electric vehicle technology and improving our environment,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “This innovative electric school bus program is one of many steps we are taking to make electric vehicles accessible to all Virginians, and we look forward to working with Dominion as they bring electric school buses to communities in all corners of our commonwealth.”

Through the first stage of the program, 50 electric school buses will be delivered to Virginia localities at the same price of traditional diesel buses, with Dominion Energy offset the additional cost for the buses and associated charging infrastructure. The first school systems to receive the buses will be Charles City,  Chesterfield, Fairfax, Loudoun, Louisa, Middlesex, Pittsylvania and Prince William counties, as well as Alexandria, Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach and Waynesboro.

“Jouley is the most exciting development in the North American pupil transportation industry since yellow paint,” Floyd Merryman, president and CEO of Sonny Merryman, said in a statement. “Our team is thrilled to partner with Dominion Energy to bring transformative electric buses to Virginia’s public schools.”

High Point, North Carolina-based bus manufacturer Thomas Built Buses and Proterra, a Burlingame, California-based electric bus designer and manufacturer, also partnered with Dominion and Sonny Merryman on the project. Built by Thomas Built Buses, the buses are powered with Proterra batteries. Sonny Merryman is an exclusive dealer of Thomas Built Buses.

“Virginia Beach City Public Schools is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the eight electric Thomas Built Buses with the Proterra powertrain,” David Pace, Virginia Beach City Public Schools executive director of transportation and fleet services, said in a statement. “We are looking forward to a continued relationship in the future to place more electric eco-friendly school buses into service. These buses will provide the children of Virginia Beach with a greener way to get to and from school.”

Aside from the environmental benefit of using electricity over diesel fuel, the electric buses can be used as portable batteries, and when not in use, can be tapped as an energy resource through vehicle-to-grid technology. Batteries can provide stability to the grid when energy demands are high. Batteries can also serve as mobile power stations in times of power outages or emergencies. 

“From the environmental benefits of cleaner air, to the cost savings for school districts, to making our electric grid stronger through energy storage technology, this program is a win-win-win for the customers and communities we serve,” Dan Weekley, Dominion Energy vice president of innovation policy and development, said in a statement.

With state approval, Phase 2 of the program would deploy at least 1,000 additional electric school buses by 2025 — with the goal of Phase 3 to have 50% of all diesel bus replacements in Dominion Energy’s footprint to be electric by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

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