Virginia Natural Gas taps new CEO
Shannon O. Pierce will succeed Robert Duvall as CEO of Virginia Natural Gas when Duvall retires in April, according to an announcement by Southern Company Gas, parent company of the Virginia Beach utility. A native of Surry, Pierce stepped into the roles of VNG president and senior vice president of Southern Company Gas, VNG’s parent […]
Virginia 500: The 2024-25 Power List
Who are Virginia‘s most powerful and influential leaders in business, government, politics and education this year? Find out in the fifth annual edition of the Virginia 500: The 2024-25 Power List. Read more about how we assembled the Virginia 500 from our editor. Executives are listed in alphabetical order by industry. Below you will find links […]
2024 Virginia 500: Energy
EDWARD ‘ED’ H. BAINE PRESIDENT, DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA, RICHMOND ROBERT ‘BOB’ M. BLUE CHAIR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, DOMINION ENERGY, RICHMOND ROBERT DUVALL PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA NATURAL GAS, VIRGINIA BEACH ANDRÉS R. GLUSKI PRESIDENT AND CEO, AES, ARLINGTON COUNTY JOHN D. HEWA PRESIDENT AND CEO, RAPPAHANNOCK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, [...]
Power up
In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy‘s Grid Deployment Office awarded Dominion Energy a grant of $33.7 million to help make the state’s electrical grid more efficient. The funds, provided through the department’s $3.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program, will support increasing battery storage capacity in rural communities and facilitating[...]
Dominion Energy issues RFP for small modular reactor at North Anna
At an event with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other state officials at its North Anna nuclear power plant in Louisa County, Dominion Energy announced plans Wednesday to potentially develop a small modular reactor (SMR) at North Anna. Dominion officials said they were issuing a request for proposals for the SMR from nuclear technology companies, […]
Dominion Energy to buy N.C. offshore wind lease for $160M
A Dominion Energy subsidiary has agreed to acquire a 40,000-acre offshore wind lease off North Carolina’s Outer Banks for $160 million, the Fortune 500 utility announced Monday. Virginia Electric and Power Company, which does business as Dominion Energy Virginia, will purchase the Kitty Hawk North Wind lease from Avangrid, a Connecticut-based sustainable energy company, and […]
Dominion installs first post for offshore wind project
Dominion Energy plunged the first monopile — after the two existing pilot turbines — into the sea floor Wednesday, kicking off construction of the $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project that will bring 176 turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Installation of the post started mid-morning and was finished by […]
Broadband, renewable energy focuses for rural development, USDA administrator says
Rural communities can improve their economy and quality of life, Andrew Berke, administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, stressed during the opening of the fifth annual Investing in Rural America conference, held Tuesday at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond hosts the two-day Investing in […]
Which way the Venn blows
It feels like one of those logic puzzles high school students grapple with on the SAT: If Delegate Sally passes a law to require utilities in her state to generate all their electricity from renewable, carbon-free energy sources like wind and solar by 2045, what is the latest year CEO Tom’s power plant can stop […]
Natural selection
Natural gas as a source of energy for Virginia power plants is set to reach its final days by the middle of the century — or is it? The Virginia General Assembly set that deadline in 2020 when it passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires the state’s two major electric utilities to shift […]
Dominion to sell 50% interest in offshore wind farm
Dominion Energy announced Feb. 22 it had reached an agreement with investment firm Stonepeak to sell a 50% noncontrolling stake in the utility‘s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project for nearly $3 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2024, if approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina […]
Clarke County limits solar development
Clarke County prioritizes agriculture. That’s what drives most of its policy-making as the county navigates the complexities of renewable energy development while preserving its farmland, explains County Administrator Chris Boies. In January, the county’s Board of Supervisors approved new regulations for utility-scale solar projects. Boies says the ordinance has always required solar p[...]