Big tech company to buy power from Va.’s first onshore wind farm
Even as political winds shift in Washington, D.C., a long-delayed onshore wind farm in Botetourt County might finally be sailing to completion. Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced Wednesday that it has reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, a wind farm the Charlottesville company has been working to […]
World’s first commercial fusion power plant planned for Chesterfield
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Massachusetts-based fusion energy company, plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. “It’s a nearly $3 billion capital investment, paying taxes, and it’s a bunch of really high-tech jobs,” Garrett Hart, Chesterfield’s director of economi[...]
Dominion Energy COO Diane Leopold to retire after nearly three decades
Dominion Energy Chief Operating Officer Diane Leopold plans to retire from the Fortune 500 utility this summer after working for nearly four decades in the industry. Leopold, who will remain as COO and executive vice president until she steps down on June 1, 2025, oversees major construction projects such as Dominion’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia […]
2024 Virginia Business Person of the Year: Robert M. Blue
Bob Blue has a “no jerks policy,” which he attributes to his upbringing in Albemarle County. “We don’t always agree. In fact, we shouldn’t agree,” he clarifies. “It doesn’t mean that we all just hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ but what it does mean is that we should treat each other respectfully.” As Dominion Energy’s […]
Judge rules Youngkin’s RGGI exit was unlawful
A Floyd County Circuit Court judge ruled this week that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was unlawful, but the governor plans to appeal the decision, according to a spokesperson. Judge Randall Lowe ruled that “the only body with the authority to repeal the RGGI regulation would be […]
ODEC announces next president and CEO
Chris Cosby will become president and CEO of Glen Allen’s Old Dominion Electric Cooperative on Feb. 1, 2025. Cosby succeeds John C. Lee, who has been ODEC’s president and CEO since Sept. 8, 2023, initially serving in an interim capacity. ODEC announced Lee’s retirement, effective Feb. 1, on Monday. He will serve as a senior […]
Appalachian Power plans small nuclear reactor in Campbell
Appalachian Power, an electric utility subsidiary of American Electric Power which serves more than one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee, announced plans Thursday to bring a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) project to Campbell County. The company, which has its headquarters in Charleston, West Virginia, has identified a potential site for the […]
Developer downscales plans for Pittsylvania power plant/data center campus
The developer planning a natural gas power plant and data center campus on 2,233 acres in the Banister and Callands-Gretna districts of Pittsylvania County withdrew its rezoning application Monday, after facing vocal opposition from residents at public meetings held last week. Instead, Herndon-based Balico, the development company behind the project, intends to file a rezoning […]
All in good time
For decades, the promise of economic revitalization has tantalized Southwest Virginia. The sparsely populated region, once home to booming coal mining and tobacco industries, has had money and resources thrown at it by local, state and federal governments, but it’s still had a difficult time finding its footing. As the region’s economy has declined, so […]
Amazon, Dominion agree to explore nuclear development
With power consumption by data centers and AI projected to more than quadruple in Virginia in the next 15 years, Amazon.com and Dominion Energy Virginia have entered into an agreement to explore potential development of small modular nuclear reactors at North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, the two companies announced during an Oct. 16 […]
Energy storage projects slated for Greensville, Pittsylvania
Two energy storage projects proposed for Southern Virginia would help augment the area’s power capacity, diversify the region’s tax base and boost the regional economy, industry representatives say. Dominion Energy Virginia wants to build a liquified natural gas storage facility on more than 20 acres that the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility owns next to its […]
Dominion completes $2.6B sale of stake in offshore wind farm
Dominion Energy has completed its $2.6 billion sale of a 50% noncontrolling stake in its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to investor Stonepeak, the Fortune 500 utility announced Tuesday. This transaction and several other recent sales reduce Dominion’s debt by approximately $21 billion, meeting a goal the utility set in a recent business review, according […]