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[...]
First of two new SCC judges sworn in
Samuel T. Towell, a former Virginia deputy attorney general and Smithfield Foods associate general counsel, was sworn in Wednesday as the Virginia State Corporation Commission‘s newest judge. The SCC governs utilities, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, insurance, retail franchising and the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange. Its three-judge panel had been short two judges sin[...]
Dominion closes sale of East Ohio Gas for $6.6B
Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility Dominion Energy closed on its sale of East Ohio Gas to Canadian pipeline and energy company Enbridge in a $6.6 billion deal, the utility announced Thursday. The sale was first announced in September 2023 as part of a deal for Dominion to sell its three natural gas distribution companies. The Public […]
JLL: NoVa is still nation’s top data center market
Northern Virginia remains the country’s largest data center market, according to a report released Monday by real estate company JLL. The 581 megawatts of capacity leased by energized — or built-out — data centers in Northern Virginia for 2023 represented a new record, according to the JLL report. Data centers leased 184 MW in capacity […]
Southwest Va. Big Deal: Land ho!
The largest business deal announced during the past year in Southwest Virginia is an agreement between Dallas-based Fortune 100 natural gas and propane pipeline transport company Energy Transfer, Virginia’s nonprofit Energy DELTA Lab and Wise County to develop energy infrastructure in the region. Under the agreement, the partners will work with energy companies and electric […]
Framatome plans $49.4M expansion, creating 515 jobs
Framatome, a French nuclear power company with its United States headquarters in Lynchburg, will invest $49.4 million to expand, modernize and enhance its facilities, creating an estimated 515 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. The expansion will meet increased demand for servicing existing nuclear power plants and developing solutions for advanced and small nuclear reactors. […]
Clean energy development could draw $8.5B in investments
Wise County and neighboring localities may become home to a massive clean energy development that could attract up to $8.25 billion in capital investments, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Nov. 1. An agreement between Wise County, the Energy DELTA Lab and Dallas-based Fortune 100 energy company Energy Transfer aims to develop 65,000 acres of former coal […]
Va. could get $100M+ lithium-ion battery project
A $100 million-plus lithium-ion battery project could be coming to Virginia, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday, but a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said North Carolina could also be in contention. MP Assets will build a facility to manufacture separators for lithium-ion batteries, bringing 282 permanent jobs and at least a $100 […]
SWVA clean energy development could draw $8.5B in investments
Wise County and neighboring localities in Southwest Virginia may become home to a massive clean energy development that could attract up to $8.25 billion in capital investments, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. An agreement between Energy DELTA Lab, Dallas-based Fortune 100 energy company Energy Transfer and Wise County will involve the development of 65,000 acres […]
Dominion offshore wind farm moves closer to final approval
Dominion Energy has passed another critical federal hurdle on its way to gaining approval to begin construction on its $9.8 billion, 176-turbine offshore wind farm 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granted a favorable record of decision for the Richmond-based Fortune 500 electric utility‘s 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia […]
Rocky Forge project faces stiff headwinds
Eight years after it was first proposed, Virginia‘s first onshore wind farm remains grounded behind regulatory, legal and political obstacles. Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy first announced plans for its Rocky Forge wind farm in 2015. Apex aimed to have blades spinning by 2017 on 25, 550-foot-tall wind turbines on North Mountain, in a remote section […]
Former Siemens exec charged in Dominion bid-rigging case
A retired Siemens Energy executive is facing a felony charge in an alleged conspiracy to steal its competitor’s trade secrets, helping the German energy company prevail in a winning bid to build a gas turbine “peaker” plant in Chesterfield County for Dominion Energy in 2019. John Gibson, of Winter Park, Florida, was charged in U.S. […]