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Dominion pitches state on $70M battery storage pilot
Dominion Energy Virginia is asking the state to allow it to test two technologies that it says could lengthen the time its batteries can electrify the grid from an average of four hours to longer than four days. In a 117-page filing made Monday with the State Corporation Commission, Dominion said its Darbytown Storage Pilot […]
Gathering power
While working on a cellular tower a few years back, Kyle Mullins got what he describes as the “call of a lifetime” — an invitation to work on the first two pilot wind turbines for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. A Navy veteran who received a telecommunications technical certification from Texas A&M University, […]
SWVA ‘ideal’ for small nuclear reactors, study says
Sites in Dickenson, Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton would be “ideal” for installing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), according to a state-funded feasibility study released Monday. Examining the technical feasibility, safety considerations and economic viability of locating small reactors in Southwest Virginia, the study conducted by Reston-based Dominion Engin[...]
Data center park headed for Surry County
A Middleburg developer plans to build at least 30 data centers on a 641-acre plot next to the Surry Nuclear Power Station in Surry County, with the possibility of a hydrogen and nuclear-powered green energy production facility in the future, the county announced Wednesday. John Andrews, CEO of Middleburg-based Green Energy Partners LLC of Virginia, […]
Balance of power
Chris Rawlings was a mechanic who wanted to be a pilot. He left the Marine Corps in 2008 after deploying twice to Iraq, where he supervised an aircraft maintenance team, going on to perform similar duties as a civilian contractor in a hangar at Fort Eustis. But his plan was to get back into the […]
The 2023 Heavy Hitters list
Virginia Business’ annual list of the commonwealth’s 50 most powerful and influential leaders provides our editors’ take on the heaviest-hitting of heavyweights in business, government, nonprofits and higher education. Think of it as an executive committee for the leaders populating our annual Virginia 500 issue — the top 10% of the state’s power elite. And […]
SHARON SMOOT
Smoot is a unicorn — a Black woman overseeing 4,700 employees in the highly technical field of manufacturing components for nuclear reactors. Named last summer as head of the Lynchburg-based federal contractor’s nuclear division, Smoot spent 30 years as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy, ultimately serving as executive director for logistics, maintenance and […]
BWX Technologies hires new chief admin officer
Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. has hired Robert “Bob” Duffy as its senior vice president and chief administrative officer, the nuclear components and fuel supplier announced Monday. He starts Aug. 29. Duffy will take the place of Rick Loving, BWXT’s current chief administrative officer, who announced his retirement after 43 years with the company. Duffy previously [&hellip[...]
Virginia Transformer Corp. launches EV charger module
Roanoke-based power transformer manufacturer Virginia Transformer Corp. has entered the electric vehicle market by launching a manufacturing division to create components for commercial electric vehicle power chargers, with plans to expand the initiative, the company announced Monday. Commercial customers can build self-contained, scalable power modules from VTC’s new product, E2V. The unit [...]
Hanley Energy to add 343 jobs in Ashburn
Irish energy management company Hanley Energy will invest $8 million to expand its Hanley Energy Electrical division in Loudoun County, a project expected to create 343 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. Hanley Energy will open a facility at 44381 Russell Branch Parkway to serve the data center market in Ashburn with equipment installation and […]
Northam announces $3.6M expansion of Eaton in Henrico
Power management manufacturer and supplier Eaton Corp. plc will invest $3.6 million to move production from California to its facility in Henrico County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The move will create 80 jobs through the expansion of the Henrico facility’s production capabilities and the addition of new lines for electrical component manufacturing. Eaton, an […]
Appalachian Power denied rate increase by SCC
A rate increase sought by Appalachian Power Co. has been denied by the State Corporation Commission. According to a statement issued by the SCC on Tuesday, Appalachian Power was seeking to increase rates by approximately $10 per month for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. Appalachian Power earned profits that were […]
