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 […]
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 […]
Electrolyzer manufacturer to build $400M plant in Chesterfield
Updated May 1, 2024 Topsoe, a Danish electrolyzer manufacturer, is planning to build a $400 million manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County after receiving $136 million in federal tax credits to help fund construction, the company announced Friday. The plant is expected to create about 150 jobs, according to a news release Friday from the offices […]
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[...]
Dominion offshore wind farm earns final federal approvals
Richmond-based Dominion Energy has earned the final two federal approvals needed to move forward with the construction and operation of its $9.8 billion, 176-turbine offshore wind farm 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granted final approval of the construction plan for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) […]
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 […]