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byline: Elizabeth Cooper

Pipeline to progress?

Although Dominion Energy Inc. has pulled the plug on its $8 billion-plus Atlantic Coast Pipeline, natural gas remains a linchpin in the Richmond-based utility’s plan to shift from coal to renewable energy sources like wind and solar for electricity generation.

Dominion announced over the Fourth of July weekend that it was abandoning the pipeline and selling its gas transmission and storage assets to an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a transaction valued at $9.7 billion, including the assumption of $5.7 billion in existing debt.

The 600-mile conduit, which was to run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina, had faced protests and legal challenges from environmental and community groups since Dominion and Duke Energy joined forces on the venture in 2014. A major roadblock was removed in June when the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the pipeline to cross underneath the Appalachian Trail, but legal and regulatory hurdles continued to threaten the project’s economic vitality.

Specifically, a Montana court decision regarding the Keystone pipeline overturned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ authority to issue permits for water and wetland crossings. That decision is likely to lead to similar challenges related to pipeline permits, including ones that would have impacted the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Aaron Ruby. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.
Aaron Ruby. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.

“The project overcame a lot of challenges,” says Aaron Ruby, a Dominion media relations manager. “The Supreme Court’s decision was a vindication of the project and a decisive victory, but we reached the point where there were too many legal and regulatory uncertainties to continue.”

With the pipeline halted, Dominion is focusing on its regulated electric and natural gas utilities to serve customers and achieve its ambitious goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Following the General Assembly’s passage of the sweeping Virginia Clean Economy Act overhauling how utilities generate power, the onus has been placed on Dominion to shift to renewable energy. 

The state’s largest utility is committed to meeting that challenge with a multifaceted plan that includes a $7.8 billion offshore wind farm that would be the largest in North America, adding more solar farms, retiring coal-fired plants and exploring emerging new technologies such as battery storage and hydrogen carbon capture.

Keeping the lights on

During the next 15 years, Dominion plans to invest up to $55 billion across its 20-state footprint in emissions reduction technologies. Moody’s Investors Service notes that selling its pipeline assets will help Dominion reach its clean energy goals by immediately reducing the utility’s carbon and methane exposure. 

Still, Dominion faces significant obstacles on its path to becoming carbon-free. Wind and solar generate energy only when the breeze is blowing and the sun is shining. Solar power reaches its peak midday when Dominion customers’ average energy usage is at one of its lowest points, while demand tops out during the morning and evening hours. As for batteries, energy storage technology is still in the early stages.

Katharine Bond. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.
Katharine Bond. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.

“We are all-in on renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, but our obligation is to meet our customers’ energy needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” says Katharine Bond, Dominion’s vice president for public policy and state affairs in Virginia. “Wind and solar are fantastic resources, but you can’t store nearly enough of that energy for later use with current technology to meet all customer needs. We must have something on standby to ratchet up and down when the sun sets and the wind is not blowing.”

To fill the gap, natural gas, used in manufacturing, home heating and electric generation, is a critical tool in Dominion’s energy arsenal. “Natural gas is the only technology available to us today that we can turn up or down on a moment’s notice to respond to customers,” Bond notes.

Natural gas generates about 40% of electricity for Dominion’s Virginia customers, both residential and industrial. In Dominion’s long-term planning blueprint, natural gas is positioned to play a vital, low-emission role across the utility for decades to come.

The fossil fuel is the U.S.’s main source for electricity generation, despite pushback from environmentalists, elected officials and communities fighting the development of natural gas pipelines and power plants in the courts and in public opinion.

Natural gas also is an important part of Dominion’s broader strategy to become carbon-free.

“The common misconception is that natural gas and renewables are in competition and mutually exclusive,” says Ruby. “The opposite is actually the case. They work together to reduce greenhouse emissions from our electric fleet. Natural gas makes renewables work better and helps us bring more renewables on the grid.”

Ruby cites Dominion’s partnership with Smithfield Foods Inc. on a $500 million venture to convert methane from hog farms into renewable natural gas. “Without the ability to capture methane and turn it into natural gas for home heating, we would not be able to solve this environmental challenge.”

Additionally, Dominion is working with cruise lines and container vessels to convert their fleets from diesel and fuel oil to lower carbon liquefied natural gas. “The largest cargo ships generate [the same amount of] carbon emissions annually as millions and millions of cars,” Bond adds.

Dominion’s Integrated Resource Plan, filed with the State Corporation Commission in May, projects significant investments in solar, offshore wind and energy storage resources while deploying natural gas-fired generation to fill the gap. A road map for supplying energy needs over the next 15 years, the document is driven largely by the Virginia Clean Economy Act’s mandates. 

Specifically, Dominion’s plan calls for more than 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035, including the 2,600-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which is slated to go in service off the coast of Virginia Beach in late 2026. Dominion, the nation’s fourth-largest utility operator of solar power facilities, also expects to develop approximately 16,000 megawatts of solar power over the next 15 years.

Additionally, Dominion plans to expand its energy storage capacity to approximately 2,700 megawatts, meeting ambitious targets established in the Virginia Clean Economy Act. That includes four battery storage pilot projects in Central Virginia slated to go online next year. It’s a promising technology, but Bond notes that average batteries currently can store and discharge energy for only four to six hours. “If we are looking at today’s technology and deploy that level of energy storage, we would still only serve about 650,000 to 675,000 customers for approximately four hours. If the battery runs out, we’re still obligated to keep our customers’ lights on.”

‘The sky is really the limit’

Clean energy advocates, along with the legislators who spearheaded the clean economy act, have criticized Dominion’s continued reliance on natural gas. In a joint statement, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, and Del. Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan Jr., D-Fairfax, said Dominion’s long-term plan “is tantamount to quitting the game before the first pitch is thrown.”

Dominion, however, contends that the plan complies with the Virginia Clean Economy Act while utilizing the least costly means to keep customers’ lights on. “We are obligated to maintain reliable service round the clock,” Bond says, adding that the utility is committed to deploying proven new technology as it becomes available and is cost effective for customers. “We can’t rely on hope, and we can’t hope that technological advances will get there.”

Meanwhile, with the pipeline canceled, Dominion acknowledges that energy needs will go unmet. Pipeline advocates say Hampton Roads and other communities across Virginia and eastern North Carolina experience chronic natural gas shortages and urgently need new infrastructure to support home heating, manufacturing and military and federal installations. In addition, demand for natural gas in Virginia and North Carolina is expected to almost double over the next two decades to support the transition to clean energy and the needs of growing populations and new industries.

“Over a dozen military bases and hundreds of manufacturing facilities all use natural gas,” says Bryan Stephens, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. “Right now, it’s coming from one pipeline operating at maximum capacity. If there is a surge, Dominion and other energy providers have to decide who gets natural gas and who doesn’t.”

Cassady Craighill. Photo courtesy Clean Virginia, William Limpert
Cassady Craighill. Photo courtesy Clean Virginia, William Limpert

Craig Quigley, executive director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance, had hoped that the pipeline would ensure reliable, sufficient energy for local military installations. “If an installation doesn’t have that, its military value is lessened and perhaps becomes questioned,” he says. “The pipeline would have taken that off the table forever, but the military has mitigation strategies. We’ll make do.”

Pipeline opponents, however, contend the risks outweighed the benefits and would have locked Virginia into fossil fuel generation for years to come. “The road to economic growth when it comes to energy is not just one way and doesn’t just flow through the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” says Cassady Craighill, communications director for Clean Virginia, an independent advocacy group. “The sky is really the limit in Virginia because we’ve had such dismal renewable energy opportunities for so long.”

Lynn and William Limpert had expected that Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction would fell this 250- to 300-year-old sugar maple on their former property in Bath County. Photo courtesy William Limpert
Lynn and William Limpert had expected that Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction would fell this 250- to 300-year-old sugar maple on their former property in Bath County. Photo courtesy William Limpert

More pipes in the pipeline

William Limpert, a retired environmental regulator, met the pipeline’s termination with a mixture of elation and relief. Limpert, who previously owned property along the pipeline’s route through Bath County, was concerned about the potential for explosions, landslides and water pollution.

“If Dominion hadn’t planned for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and invested in renewable energy six years ago, they would be way ahead of where they are in preventing a climate catastrophe, which is still looming,” he contends, although he adds that the utility can still meet its clean energy goals. “If they put their mind to it, they could make great strides in providing renewable energy.”

Limpert is also “dead set against” the Mountain Valley Pipeline. A joint venture between partners including subsidiaries of Consolidated Edison Inc. and EQT Corp., the $5.2 billion, 303-mile pipeline is being constructed from West Virginia through Southwest Virginia to Central North Carolina. “These pipelines are not a bridge to renewable energy,” he says. “In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas is just as bad as coal. All of us will suffer if these gas pipelines are built. It will lock us into three or four decades of continued fossil fuel use.”

Construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, seen here in eastern Montgomery County, is 90% complete. Photo by Mark Rhodes
Construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, seen here in eastern Montgomery County, is 90% complete. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Also dogged by legal challenges, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is nonetheless more than 90% complete and expected to go into service in 2021. A day after the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was shelved, the U.S. Supreme Court removed a key barrier toward the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s progress when it issued a stay of a Montana judge’s ruling banning a fast-track permitting process that allows pipelines to cross bodies of water. Mountain Valley needed such a permit in order to complete construction.

Virginia Beach-based Virginia Natural Gas also has encountered opposition in its quest to connect its pipeline system to an interstate pipeline in Northern Virginia. Opponents contend the $346 million Header Improvement Project would accelerate climate change, impact wetlands, impede landowners’ rights and burden ratepayers, as well as expose communities of color and low-income people to noise and air pollution.

In June, the SCC ruled that approval for the pipeline hinges on Virginia Natural Gas placing a strict cap on costs billed to its residential and business customers. The SCC made the determination in part because the project’s main driver, C4GT, a power generation facility in Charles City County, would pay the majority of its costs. “It is imperative that VNG’s other customers not be left ‘holding the bag’ for the costs of the project should C4GT cease operating before those costs have been fully recovered,” the SCC said in a statement.

Virginia Natural Gas has until Dec. 31 to fulfill the requirements issued in the SCC’s ruling.

The Header Improvement Project includes 24 miles of pipelines and three new or expanded gas compressor stations in Prince William County, Caroline County and Chesapeake. VNG says the project will enhance operational capacity to ensure that the utility, along with C4GT, Columbia Gas of Virginia and Dominion subsidiary Power Services Energy, have access to reliable natural gas.

Reliability — coupled with safety — is key, adds Dominion’s Bond. “We’ll be looking at every opportunity we can to help serve customer needs. Our customers expect their lights to turn on when they flip a switch. We can’t compromise on that.”

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Offshore windfall

Two massive wind turbines are scheduled to begin spinning off the coast of Virginia Beach by the end of 2020, providing electricity to 3,000 homes and paving the way for Dominion Energy Inc. to build the nation’s largest offshore wind farm.   

And even amid the coronavirus outbreak, plans are still proceeding on course, says Dominion spokeswoman Ann Nallo. “The company is preparing to perform ocean surveys to determine the impact of the 2,600-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind [CVOW] project on the ocean and sea life. These surveys will help support development of the project’s construction and operations plan for submittal to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management later this year.”

The utility began construction on the $300 million pilot project in June 2019. Located 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast, CVOW sits in 2,135 acres of federally owned waters leased to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management awarded final approval to the project last fall. Dominion has contracted with Denmark-based Ørsted Energy to install two, 6-megawatt research wind turbines this spring manufactured by Spanish engineering firm Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

The oceanic wind farm is the nation’s first offshore wind venture owned by an electric utility company, as well as the only permitted offshore wind project in federal waters. The U.S.’s first offshore wind project, the 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island, began operating in 2016, and Rhode Island has another project underway. Maryland and Massachusetts also have commercial offshore wind projects in the works. New York signed the nation’s largest contract for offshore wind power last summer, a projected $5 billion deal totaling 1,700 megawatts in capacity.

The CVOW project is Dominion’s initial step toward an even greater endeavor — erecting 200 turbines in 112,800 acres of federal waters adjacent to the test turbines. Scheduled to be built in three, 880-megawatt phases from 2024 to 2026, the $7.8 billion commercial project will be capable of generating 2,650 megawatts of zero-carbon electricity at peak wind speeds to power 650,000 homes.

The utility has selected Spain-based Siemens Gamesa, a global market leader in offshore wind power, as its preferred supplier for the turbines, which will rise 600 feet from the ocean’s surface to the tip of the top blade, making each of the structures taller than the Washington Monument. Siemens Gamesa also will work with Dominion to evaluate supply chain development in Virginia for offshore wind as the state aims to become a national leader in the technology, management and deployment of offshore wind energy.

Dominion is continuing its work in creating a U.S.-based supply chain for offshore wind turbines in Hampton Roads, Nallo says, including collaborating with Siemens Gamesa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dominion is developing the larger wind farm as part of its ambitious initiative to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The utility, which has reduced its carbon emissions by more than 50% and methane emissions by 25% over the past 10 to 15 years, has said offshore wind power will be rate-based for its customers. “CVOW is intended to benefit our regulated customers,” says Nallo, “which requires the approval from the State Corporation Commission, just like any other power-generating facility.”

Shortly before Dominion announced the commercial project last September, Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order calling on state agencies to develop strategies for Virginia to produce 30% of its electricity from renewable supplies by 2030 and to be fully carbon-free by 2050. The executive order stipulated that an offshore wind farm generating 2,500 megawatts be constructed by 2026.

Meanwhile, this year the General Assembly passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, requiring the state’s electric grid to be 60% carbon-free by 2036 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The sweeping legislation also increased the state’s offshore wind power generation goal to 5.2 gigawatts by 2034.

Along with providing a new source of renewable energy, the offshore wind farm could position Virginia as a supply chain hub for the U.S. offshore wind industry, bringing thousands of jobs to the state. Northam’s 2020 state budget included funding for an Office of Offshore Wind to support the state’s efforts to become a leader in the nascent industry, as well as $40 million for port upgrades to help drive investments in the offshore wind supply chain.

Additionally, Northam announced in January that Ørsted will lease part of Portsmouth Marine Terminal from the Port of Virginia to stage materials and equipment for its offshore wind projects across six states, including New Jersey and Rhode Island. “We have the potential to drive offshore wind for the entire East Coast,” Northam said in announcing the lease agreement. “We are so well-positioned in Hampton Roads with the port. It is one of Virginia’s top selling points.” He added that the region has the trained workforce and maritime knowledge necessary to become a vital hub for offshore wind development.

Ørsted will initially lease 1.7 acres at PMT through 2026, with the option to expand to 40 acres. Port officials say the agreement could amount to almost $13 million in lease payments and site upgrades of more than $20 million for cranes and other improvements to a section of the terminal’s berth to ensure heavy load capacity. One of the port’s two multiuse terminals in Norfolk Harbor, PMT covers 287 acres and offers on-dock rail access and open space for storage and staging. The investments will prepare the terminal for activities such as preassembly, staging and loading wind turbines as Ørsted installs almost 3,000 megawatts of wind energy projects up and down the East Coast that would power about 1.5 million households. 

One of the world’s largest wind-energy developers, Ørsted will ship equipment to PMT, where it will be worked on and transported to offshore installation sites. The company believes Virginia will play a central role in the emerging industry, says Thomas Brostrøm, president and CEO of Ørsted North America, Offshore. “Virginia is a key player in offshore wind for America,” he adds. “Virginia has a world-class port and maritime workforce, and PMT is well-situated to meet our needs as we continue to expand in the U.S.”

Located on the west bank of the Elizabeth River, the terminal boasts modern facilities, deep-water channels and unobstructed overhead access, which officials say will give the state a competitive advantage in producing and moving offshore wind components. “PMT is a great asset,” Brostrøm says. “It has all the ingredients we really need for effective installation.”

The offshore wind industry will require multiple ports for staging and transferring components to sites off the East Coast, he adds. “This is a very vast industry emerging, and we’re going to see more investment in ports up and down the coast. We’re looking at a $70 billion industry in the next 10 to 15 years.”

Port of Virginia officials hope other offshore wind suppliers will share that view. “Our hope with PMT being a hub is that it will start to attract major suppliers,” says Cathie J. Vick, the port’s chief development and government affairs officer for the Virginia Port Authority. “As projects come online on the East Coast, our objective is to attract them to put facilities in Virginia, including blades, tower manufacturing and assembly of parts. They would use the port as a shipment center to other places up and down the East Coast.”

Offshore wind projects will help diversify and expand Hampton Roads’ substantial maritime industry, adds David C. White, executive vice president of the Virginia Maritime Association, a group that promotes commerce through Virginia ports. “There is the potential for thousands of jobs and for this area to be the epicenter for supplying offshore wind off the East Coast,” he says. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

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Positive energy

By 2026, as many as 220 massive wind turbines — each taller than the Washington Monument — may be churning away less than 30 miles off the Virginia Beach coast, powering up to 650,000 homes with renewable energy.

The $7.8 billion proposed offshore wind farm would be the nation’s largest such project, but it’s just one component of Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc.’s plans for achieving its ambitious goal, announced in February, of reducing carbon dioxide and methane emissions from its electricity generation and gas infrastructure operations to net zero by 2050. In addition to wind power, Dominion plans to hit this target by continuing to operate its zero-carbon nuclear power plants, while ramping up its solar portfolio, retiring coal-fired plants and exploring emerging technologies such as battery storage and hydrogen carbon capture.

Robert M. Blue, Dominion’s executive vice president and co-chief operating officer, says that the utility can meet its net-zero goal by 2050. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy
Robert M. Blue, Dominion’s executive vice president and co-chief operating officer, says that the utility can meet its net-zero goal by 2050. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy

At the same time, Gov. Ralph Northam and the Democratic-majority General Assembly have formulated their own plan to rid the state of carbon emissions by 2050, passing the Virginia Clean Economy Act during this year’s legislative session. The sweeping legislation      overhauls how utilities generate power and sets the stage for the state to shift to renewable energy sources, dramatically reducing Virginia’s carbon footprint, as well as mitigating the impacts of climate change and strengthening the state’s clean energy economy.

Last September, Northam issued an executive order establishing statewide goals to power 30% of Virginia’s electric system from carbon-free sources such as wind, solar and nuclear by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

Having already reduced its carbon emissions by more than 50% during the past 10 to 15 years, Dominion raised the bar in October 2019, saying it planned to reduce its remaining carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. However, the utility upped the ante even more in February, saying it aimed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Dominion previously committed to reduce methane emissions, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, from its natural gas operations by 65% by 2030 and 80% by 2040.

Dominion officials are confident they can meet both company and government deadlines for large-scale renewable energy endeavors to depose fossil fuel-generated power’s reign in Virginia.

“We can meet net zero by 2050,” says Robert M. Blue, Dominion’s executive vice president and co-chief operating officer. “Our response to Governor Northam’s directive was, ‘Challenge accepted.’”

Investing in the future

Environmentalists might look askance at Dominion’s commitment to protecting the environment, given factors such as Dominion’s agreement in March to pay $1.4 million to settle alleged environmental violations at two power plants in Chesterfield and Prince William counties. In making the settlement with state and federal authorities, Dominion denied the coal-ash pollution allegations and didn’t assume any liability.

Dominion Energy isn’t charting its course for net-zero emissions in a vacuum, however. Across the nation, corporations are turning to green energy to fight climate change, enhance their business and satisfy customers and investors. This January, Microsoft announced its plans to become carbon negative by 2030. The company also plans to remove from the environment all carbon it has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since its founding in 1975. Meanwhile, in February, Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion of his personal fortune to fight climate change, and Delta Air Lines Inc. promised to become the first carbon neutral airline by 2030, committing at least $1 billion to reducing its environmental impact.

Corporate efforts to address climate change picked up steam after the January announcement by BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, that sustainability will drive its investment strategies. In his annual letter to U.S. CEOs, influential BlackRock Chairman and CEO Jeff Fink said the asset manager will require additional environmental reporting from companies it invests in after BlackRock clients listed climate change as their top concern.

BlackRock owns more than 5% of Dominion’s stock and is one of the utility’s top three investors. (About 3% of BlackRock’s global utility and power portfolio is invested in Dominion, which provides power to large parts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and has natural gas and power generation operations across the nation.)

Graphic courtesy Dominion Energy
Graphic courtesy Dominion Energy

“Dominion Energy has a long tradition of engaging with our shareholders and other stakeholders to obtain their perspectives on a host of issues, including sustainability and the environment. Prior to the publication of Mr. Fink’s letter, we had already begun drafting the core principles of our net zero commitment, which built on our previous efforts calling for a federal carbon policy,” said Dominion Energy spokesperson Ryan Frazier. Dominion is one of 21 companies that make up The CEO Climate Dialogue group, which is working to advance climate action by the federal government. Other member companies include Ford Motor Co., Shell and DuPont.

And with its customers and investors demanding more clean and renewable energy, Dominion has ramped up its longstanding efforts to provide greener energy. “We’re constantly looking at what we think we can achieve with the right technologies and right policies,” Blue says. “We need to do this in a way that maintains the reliability of the electric grid and in a way that’s most cost-effective for our customers.”

Here are some of the ways Virginia’s power utilities are planning to migrate to renewable energy by 2050:

Offshore wind

Offshore wind is a major component of Dominion’s renewable energy initiatives. The utility is preparing to launch the country’s largest offshore wind project with 220 wind turbines installed in 112,800 acres of federal waters 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Scheduled to be built in three 880-megawatt phases from 2024 to 2026, the $7.8 billion project will be capable of generating 2,650 megawatts of energy. The State Corporation Commission has to approve the project by 2023 in order for Dominion to complete it by 2026.

The wind farm would be adjacent to the two, 6-megawatt test turbines Dominion and Denmark-based power company Ørsted are installing this year on 2,135 acres of federally owned waters as part of Dominion’s $300 million Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project, the nation’s first offshore wind endeavor owned by an electric utility company. At peak winds, the turbines are expected to provide electricity to 3,000 homes when they go into operation later this year. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management awarded final approval to the test project last fall. It is the only permitted offshore wind project in federal waters.

Aside from providing renewable energy, the wind farm could also establish Hampton Roads as a supply chain hub for offshore wind projects being launched up and down the East Coast, stimulating the region’s efforts to diversify its economy. Turbines, blades and other components currently are manufactured and shipped from Europe, but a U.S. supply chain is expected to emerge as more commercial wind farms come online. In January, Northam announced that Ørsted will lease part of Portsmouth Marine Terminal from the Port of Virginia to stage materials and equipment for its offshore wind projects across six East Coast states. Ørsted will initially lease 1.7 acres at the terminal through 2026, with the option to expand to 40 acres.

“There is the potential for thousands of jobs and for this area to be the epicenter for supplying offshore wind off the East Coast,” says David C. White, executive vice president of the Virginia Maritime Association. The industry, he adds, will attract new businesses to the region, including manufacturing services. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We really need to take steps to make sure Virginia makes the most of it.”

Despite its potential impacts on Dominion’s grid and Virginia’s economy, wind energy generates power only when the wind is blowing — or an estimated 25% to 30% of the time.

Solar power

While wind power kicks up at night and in the winter, solar power is prevalent on warm, sunny days. Dominion is expanding its solar fleet capacity with projects to power more than 375,000 homes. The nation’s fourth-largest utility operator of solar power facilities, Dominion has more than a dozen projects completed or under construction in Virginia and could add at least 5,200 megawatts of solar in the state over the next 25 years.

Blue says Dominion has applied lessons learned from its initial solar energy activities in the Southwestern U.S. to Virginia. “We’re committed to building substantial solar projects and have them in production by 2022. We’re more than halfway there.”

Those projects include a solar farm the utility is building in Pittsylvania County from which Amazon will purchase nearly 70% of the output to offset power generation at its HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington, while Arlington County will procure the remaining power to offset local government operations after the farm goes online in 2022.

Dominion also is partnering with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on the development of a large-scale, 100-megawatt solar energy project on about 1,200 acres at Washington Dulles International Airport. It would be one of the largest solar facilities in Northern Virginia, powering 25,000 homes at peak output. The facility could go into operation as early as 2023.

In addition, one of the utility’s subsidiaries, Dominion Generation, last year purchased two solar projects that will generate power for telecommunications company T-Mobile USA Inc. The solar facilities near Emporia and in Suffolk are expected to come online later this year.

And Dominion’s 80-megawatt Grasshopper Solar Project in Mecklenburg County was one of four new solar farms issued permits by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality last fall.

In addition to Dominion’s projects, other solar farms are sprouting up across Southern Virginia, especially in Danville and neighboring Pittsylvania County. Two, 5-megawatt solar plants are slated to go online this summer, providing energy for Danville Utilities’ 42,000 customers. The city already has two other solar power plants in operation, including the 6-megawatt Kentuck Solar Farm, which began operations two years ago. Serving about 1,200 homes, Kentuck is the largest municipal utility solar farm in Virginia.

“Solar farms are a great economic development tool,” says Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities. Photo by Mark Rhodes
“Solar farms are a great economic development tool,” says Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Kentuck provides about 1.5% of Danville’s total energy needs, says Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities. “That’s not a lot, but it’s still a renewable asset.” The city’s two new solar projects are expected to provide an additional 6.5% in solar energy.

Solar farms also have helped boost Danville’s economy, which had been battered by the shuttering of textile mills and tobacco warehouses. Former tobacco fields are being used for solar farms, increasing property values and attracting new businesses to the area. “Solar farms are a great economic development tool,” Grey adds. “A lot of companies when looking at sites ask what portion of the portfolio is renewable. At least 20% of Danville’s portfolio is renewable.”

Grey says his community has largely supported solar farm development. “If you had to pick a generating asset to have around you, you would pick solar,” he adds. “There’s no noise, and a lot of the developers we’re working with have built-in setback areas so they’re not as noticeable from the road.”

This 20-megawatt Dominion-owned solar farm in Sussex County’s Stony Creek area is one of six Virginia solar farms producing renewable energy purchased by Amazon Web Services to offset its environmental impact. Drone photography by Rick DeBerry
This 20-megawatt Dominion-owned solar farm in Sussex County’s Stony Creek area is one of six Virginia solar farms producing renewable energy purchased by Amazon Web Services to offset its environmental impact. Drone photography by Rick DeBerry

Virginia’s other major electric utility, Appalachian Power, also is pursuing solar power as it strives to meet mandates set under the governor’s executive order and the Virginia Clean Economy Act. When its first appeal for large-scale solar farms did not result in viable projects, the utility issued a second request for proposals for up to 200 megawatts of solar energy resources to power more than 30,000 homes. Developers also can include up to 10 megawatts of a battery energy storage system.

“We think we will get better proposals by lumping in battery storage and get more favorable pricing,” says Chris T. Beam, Appalachian’s president and chief operating officer.

Appalachian also plans to purchase solar power from the 15-megawatt Depot Solar Center in Campbell County, slated to be completed this year. “We’re focusing more on renewable energy,” Beam says, noting that the company plans to close its Clinch River Plant, its last fossil-fuel energy generator in Virginia, in 2026.

Serving about 500,000 customers in Virginia, Appalachian is the only electric company in the state to offer customers the option of obtaining 100% of their power from renewable energy, including wind, hydro and solar. About 200 customers pay a premium rate for the service, which Beam says was implemented due to customer demand. Hydro power, which includes facilities at Smith Mountain, Claytor and Leesville lakes, comprises about 11% of Appalachian’s fuel mix, while about 7% of the utility’s power comes from wind farms in West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois.

Onshore wind

Onshore wind energy has had less success in Virginia, largely due to the state’s topography. “We try to situate wind facilities to where the wind blows the most constant,” Beam says. “There are a couple wind corridors in Virginia that make sense. … If we find a bidder with favorable pricing and landowners willing to lease property, we would certainly consider it.”

Charlottesville-based wind and solar power developer Apex Clean Energy is encountering opposition to its planned 75-megawatt Rocky Forge Wind Farm in Botetourt County, which would be Virginia’s first-ever onshore wind project. Apex obtained approval from the county Board of Supervisors for turbines up to 550 feet tall in 2016, but later asked to install turbines up to 680 feet tall, citing changes in technology that would allow for the construction of fewer but larger turbines.

Steve Neas, a civil engineer who lives near the proposed wind farm, scoffed when he learned about Apex’s plans. “My issue is the amount of energy produced is minimal,” he says. “Wind resources in the Allegheny Mountains are marginal at best, but the impacts created by large turbines would be significant.” Neas asserts that the turbines would disrupt the environment and create both audible noise and low-frequency vibrations.

Botetourt County is holding public hearings about the proposed turbine height change. Apex hopes to begin construction on the wind farm by the end of this year, with the project coming online in late 2021. Last fall, Virginia agreed to purchase the wind farm’s output, creating the largest state contract for renewable energy in the U.S.

Like Appalachian, Dominion does not have onshore wind farms in Virginia. “What we’ve found is onshore wind resources are fairly challenging,” Blue says, noting local pushback. “The best wind resources are on top of ridge lines, but that’s where people see it the most, and you can get community opposition.”

Nuclear power

However, Dominion does not expect any opposition as it renews licenses for its Surry and North Anna nuclear power stations, which together provide electricity for one-third of Dominion’s 2.5 million Virginia customers and are the largest sources of carbon-free energy in Virginia. U.S. nuclear reactors are initially licensed for 40 years, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issuing 20-year renewals.

“The continued operation of those two plants is extremely important,” Blue says. “Nuclear power plants are essential. They operate 24 hours a day, whereas solar operates when the sun is shining and wind farms when the wind is blowing.”

Battery storage

As Dominion continues to deploy renewable energy, the company also is investigating new storage technologies to ensure the grid’s effective operation. The State Corporation Commission earlier this year approved the utility’s four battery storage pilot projects in Central Virginia. Totaling 16 megawatts, the projects are the largest of their kind in Virginia and will help Dominion better determine how best to use batteries to integrate renewable energy sources and maintain reliable service. Battery storage technology is in its early stages, Blue notes. “We want to make sure it works before we deploy it on a large scale.”

But, he adds, the utility is committed to achieving a carbon-free electric grid within the next three decades. “There are lots of steps that need to be taken between now and 2050,” Blue acknowledges. “By no means is this something that’s going to be simple, but the basic building blocks are already in place.”

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Pig-powered

Along with emitting a potent odor, manure produced by the nearly  75 million hogs in the U.S. generates methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

However, Virginia’s largest electric utility and the world’s largest pork producer have teamed up to combat the latter problem by transforming these emissions into clean energy. In late 2018, Dominion Energy Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. announced the formation of Align Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), a joint venture that will harness methane emissions on clusters of Smithfield-owned and-contracted hog farms across the United States, converting the emissions into clean energy to heat homes and power businesses. On average, methane generated from each group of 15 to 20 hog farms could power 2,800 to 6,000 homes. By 2029, Align RNG is projected to power approximately 70,000 homes.

Dominion and Smithfield’s collaboration is the country’s largest renewable natural gas partnership related to agriculture and one that the companies say will transform the future of sustainable energy and agriculture.

“This is two Virginia companies making a big commitment to sustainability,” says Ryan Childress, Dominion’s director of gas partnership business development. “It’s the perfect partnership.”

Both companies have been pursuing the use of renewable energy in their respective industries, adds Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables, a platform the company formed in 2017 to accelerate its carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts. “Our company goals are similar,” Westerbeek says. “Smithfield is a leader in animal production, and Dominion is a leader in the energy sector. It’s a very natural fit.”

Return on investment

Also known as biomethane, renewable natural gas is a pipeline-quality gas that can be used as fuel. It’s produced by the decomposition of organic material. Covered lagoons called anaerobic digesters capture the waste from hog farms, breaking down the solids and containing methane emissions. A low-pressure biogas transmission line transports the gas to a central conditioning facility where it is converted into RNG. From there, existing underground natural gas distribution lines deliver the gas to homes and businesses.

According to Dominion officials, there is no risk of explosion. In addition to the low-pressure pipes, the untreated methane is about 30% to 40% carbon dioxide, which has an extinguishing property.

“RNG is very unique,” Childress notes. “It’s the cleanest source of energy available in the U.S.”

Kraig Westerbeek
Kraig Westerbeek

Along with heating homes and businesses, renewable natural gas can be used in a variety of other markets, including powering electric vehicles, Westerbeek says. “RNG offers a lot of benefits. It can be sold for any purpose [for which] natural gas is used today.”

Individually, Dominion and Smithfield Foods have long been exploring ways to enhance their use of clean energy. Virginia’s largest electric utility, Dominion uses mainly fossil fuels to power its generation plants. However, the company is increasingly turning to other energy sources. Dominion has the fourth-largest solar farm portfolio in the nation and is one of three utilities in the U.S. to reduce its carbon intensity by more than 40% over the last decade. On the natural gas side, the company reduced methane emissions by 25% between 2010 and 2018, mainly by replacing older infrastructure with more efficient equipment, as well as by capturing and recycling methane previously vented during maintenance back into the system and by expanding leak detection measures. According to Dominion, its methane reductions have the equivalent environmental impact of taking 1.3 million gasoline-fueled cars off the road for a year or planting 103 million new trees.

Graphic courtesy Dominion Energy
Graphic courtesy Dominion Energy

Meanwhile, Smithfield Foods, which aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2025, has been studying opportunities for converting manure to energy for several decades. “Forty percent of Smithfield Foods’ carbon footprint is associated with manure management activity,” Westerbeek notes. “These biogas projects are really helping us.”

Dominion and Smithfield each initially invested $250 million in RNG projects in Virginia, where both Dominion and Smithfield are based; North Carolina, one of Smithfield’s largest operating states; and Utah, headquarters for Dominion’s western operations. However, last year, the companies doubled their investment to $500 million. With the additional investment, Align RNG is projected to power more than 70,000 homes and businesses by 2029.

“We determined there were more opportunities and expanded the program,” Childress says. “This is the same as taking 500,000 cars off the road annually from that $500 million investment or planting 40 million new trees. That’s a really good return on our investment.”

Hub-and-spoke model

Align RNG’s first project involves a cluster of more than two dozen Utah hog farms, mostly owned by Smithfield Foods. It is expected to start producing gas this spring, providing power to more than 3,000 customers when it reaches full capacity.

In Virginia, approximately 20 Smithfield Foods-owned hog farms around Waverly and Wakefield are in the design and engineering phase of establishing digesters to capture methane. The project is expected to come online in 2021 and will eventually provide energy to 4,000 homes and businesses. Other farms could be added to the original group or formed into a new cluster.

“When choosing where to establish projects, we look for areas with high density of animals that are close to a natural gas distribution line,” Westerbeek says. “It’s a great opportunity for our contract partners to be part of these and have a return on their investment. It’s better than any investments they could make on their farms.” Farmers participating in the initiative will receive a portion of the proceeds from energy produced on their farms.

Ryan Childress
Ryan Childress

Childress compares the clusters to a hub-and-spoke model, with a gas-upgrading facility in the center connected to each farm via plastic pipelines. “We’re bringing together small and moderate-size farms and networking them as they join in a hub-and-spoke model to create economy of scale,” he says. “We view these projects as a triple win. It’s a new revenue stream for farms, good for customers wanting more sustainability and lower carbon forms of energy, and it helps the environment by capturing 25 times more emissions.”

Align RNG builds on Smithfield’s Optima KV pilot project in Duplin County, North Carolina, which collects biogas from digesters on a collection of hog farms, processes it to pipeline-grade natural gas and injects it directly into a natural gas pipeline running through eastern North Carolina. Smithfield sells the biogas to Duke Energy. “That project gave Smithfield confidence for Align RNG,” Westerbeek says. “A foundational base of knowledge is precursory.”

Last summer, Dominion and Smithfield launched North Carolina’s largest renewable gas project, locating it in Duplin and Sampson counties, which rank among the top areas in the U.S. in hog and pig sales. The project is patterned after Optima KV. Annually, RNG produced from the hog farms is expected to generate enough energy to power more than 3,500 homes.

A long outlook

Although Align RNG was announced as a 10-year venture, both Dominion and Smithfield expect it to continue indefinitely. “We want a lot of the projects done in 10 years, but there are certainly opportunities for it to go a lot longer,” Westerbeek says. He adds that Smithfield intends to have 90% of the finishing space — farms where hogs are raised to market weight — in Virginia and North Carolina involved in manure-to-energy projects over the next several years.

At the end of a decade, Dominion hopes to yield enough energy from the RNG projects to reliably serve about 70,000 homes and businesses. “For us, this is a sustainable business model,” Childress says. “It provides new revenue for farmers and is environmentally sound. This is an important part of our portfolio. Align will be around for a long time.”

In addition to its RNG project with Smithfield, Dominion late last year joined forces with Vanguard Renewables and Dairy Farmers of America in the first nationwide network of waste-to-energy projects involving dairy farms. Using the same model as Dominion’s venture with Smithfield, cow manure will be stored in covered digesters on a cluster of dairy farms, where bacteria will break it down to produce methane. The methane will then be transported via underground gathering lines to a central conditioning facility where it will be converted to RNG. Combined, the hog and dairy projects are expected to generate enough clean energy to heat almost 100,000 homes while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms across the nation.

That, says Childress, is on target with Dominion’s goals to produce new forms of clean energy. “We are committed to growing the amount of RNG produced in the U.S.”

Winds of change

In September, Dominion Energy Inc. unveiled an ambitious, $8 billion project to erect the nation’s largest offshore wind farm off the Virginia Beach coast. If all goes to plan, it will power 650,000 Virginia homes by 2026.

This year, Dominion expects to bring its offshore wind pilot project online and start ocean survey work on the commercial project, which would include 220 massive wind turbines built in three phases. Rising 600 feet above the surface, each turbine would be taller than the Washington Monument.

The first group of turbines — producing 880 megawatts of energy — would be operational in 2024, with additional turbines going into service in 2025 and 2026, ultimately producing 2,600 megawatts. Dominion would be the first electric utility to have sole ownership of an offshore wind farm.

The commercial offshore wind farm is planned for a 112,800-acre site adjacent to Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, a pilot venture in which two, 600-foot-tall, 6-megawatt research wind turbines, manufactured by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, will be installed 27 miles off Virginia Beach this spring. Dominion has contracted with Danish firm Ørsted, one of the world’s largest wind-energy developers, to install the turbines on 2,135 acres of federally owned waters leased to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. In January, Ørsted agreed to lease part of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal from the Virginia Port Authority to stage materials and equipment for the CVOW project, and Dominion selected Siemens Gamesa as its preferred turbine provider for the wind farm.

The $300 million offshore pilot project is projected to be operational by the end of the year, generating 12 megawatts of energy at peak winds, enough to serve 3,000 customers. In October, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management awarded final approval to the pilot, the only offshore wind project permitted in federal waters.

Dominion will use information from the pilot to design and build the wind farm — with hopes for Virginia to become a national leader in the technology, management and deployment of offshore wind energy.

The initiative is in line with Gov. Ralph Northam’s directive to state agencies to develop plans to produce 30% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2030 and be carbon-free by 2050.

“Governor Northam has made it clear that Virginia is committed to leading the way in offshore wind and renewable energy, and we’re rising to the challenge,” says Jeremy Slayton, media relations representative for Dominion Energy.

The company’s offshore wind projects are part of its comprehensive clean energy strategy aimed at achieving net-zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions by 2050.

Currently, turbines and other components used to operate offshore wind projects are manufactured in Europe and shipped to the United States. However, as more commercial wind farms come online, a U.S. supply chain is expected to emerge. Virginia could play a major role in the industry due to its pro-business climate, deep-water ports free of overhead obstructions, maritime workforce and dock capacity, according to a 2018 report prepared by consulting firm BVG Associates.

The United States’ first offshore wind farm began operating off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016, and Maryland and Massachusetts also have similar projects in development.

Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, predicts that wind energy will have a huge economic impact on the state and the region in the next three to five years, noting that the $70 billion industry could bring 14,000 jobs to Virginia.

“Literally, you’re creating an industry out of whole cloth off the East Coast,” Smith says. “There’s opportunity for Hampton Roads to become the hub for the supply chain for this industry. Ninety percent of the skills needed to put the offshore wind industry into play are skills that we already have in the shipyards and ship repair. These are highly skilled jobs like welders and machinists.”

Port of call

Hampton Roads’ deep-water port continued to be a dominant factor in attracting companies to the region in 2019, especially cold storage and warehousing and logistics firms.

“As we try to bring industry into this area, the port is a significant driver of our economic development,” says Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance. In 2019, the 11 Hampton Roads localities in the alliance announced projects totaling $239 million in capital investment and 2,652 jobs.

With additional capacity, including increased abilities to handle refrigerated and temperature-controlled cargo, the port has upped the ante in attracting food and beverage companies to Virginia. “The port authority has recognized a real opportunity in the food and beverage space from an economic development standpoint,” says David White, executive director of the Virginia Maritime Association. Improvements at the port, including expanded facilities and dredging and widening channels, he adds, give Virginia a competitive edge.

Newport News

In December, the Navysigned its largest-ever ship-­­­­building contract, a $22.2 bil­­­­­­­l­­­ion deal with General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding to produce nine Virginia-class submarines.

Newport News Shipbuilding will deliver five of the nine submarines from 2025 through 2029.

In preparation for increased workloads from the Virginia class and other shipbuilding programs, Newport News Shipbuilding has hired about 10,000 people during the past three years. Huntington Ingalls has also invested more than $1 billion in capital improvements, about two-thirds of which include Newport News’ operations.

Old Dominion University has partnered with Newport News Shipbuilding and the city to open the Brooks Crossing Innovation and Opportunity Center, offering workforce development and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math-focused learning) education opportunities to residents, students and businesses.

ODU also is collaborating with LAVLE USA Inc. to establish the Marine Electric Propulsion Simulation Laboratory downtown. The $12 million, 22,000-square-foot facility will have state-of-the-art equipment to develop marine electric propulsion, advanced energy storage and autonomous systems to advance marine vessels for military and commercial use.

Virginia Beach

A surf park promoted by music superstar Pharrell Williams is one step closer after Virginia Beach City Council approved a deal last fall with Venture Realty Group to develop the $325 million project on a 10-acre site near the oceanfront. Atlantic Park, featuring a Wavegarden Lagoon surf park, will also include a 3,500-seat entertainment venue, offices, retail, apartments and parking garages. The city is pitching in about $95 million for parking, streetscapes and the entertainment center, and City Council approved spending $9 million for land acquisition. The project is expected to employ 3,600 workers during construction and 2,000 people after opening in four to five years.

Also in Virginia Beach, LifeNet Health, the state’s only federally designated organ procurement organization, is investing almost $8 million to expand its facilities. In April, the company unveiled the first phase of about $6 million in upgrades at its processing plant near Norfolk International Airport. Once the expansion is completed in 2021, the site will be the largest of LifeNet’s four tissue graft-processing facilities. LifeNet also is investing nearly $1.8 million to expand its facility in the Lynnhaven business corridor. With the upgrades, the nonprofit plans to add 44 positions over the next year.

Meanwhile, SRP Cos. Inc., a supplier of cell phone accessories and sunglasses to more than 60,000 U.S. retailers, is spending $1.16 million to relocate a significant part of its warehouse operations to Virginia Beach, where it expects to hire up to 130 more people this year. And DroneUp, a web and mobile platform for on-demand drone pilot services, is investing $130,000 to expand its headquarters and create 41 jobs.

Portsmouth

While the General Assembly debates whether to legalize casino gambling, the city has hired Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming LLC to develop and manage a casino resort that would be built on 50 acres near Tidewater Community College’s Portsmouth campus. If casinos are legalized, the company plans to purchase the site from the city at a minimum price of $10 million. The nonbinding agreement specifies that the site must have enough space to build a parking garage and “first-class” hotel.

Preferred Freezer Services Inc., one of the world’s largest public refrigerated warehousing companies, last April announced plans to spend $60 million to build a 200,000-square-foot cold storage warehouse in Portsmouth, hiring 60 employees. The following month, Michigan-based warehousing and logistics company Lineage Logistics completed its acquisition of Preferred Freezer Services.

Collins Machine Works is expanding its naval and maritime machining business in Portsmouth after purchasing and renovating an industrial facility in the Port Centre Commerce Park, adding 20 employees. The $3.3 million investment gives the company an additional 32,000 square feet.

In June, the Naval Sea Systems command broke ground on a $64.7 million, 157,000-square-foot training facility at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, part of NAVSEA’s $21 billion Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan to upgrade infrastructure at its four public nuclear fleet shipyards. Slated to be completed by 2021, the facility will consolidate training classes now held at 26 sites.

Chesapeake

The second phase of the $300 million Summit Pointe mixed-use development in Greenbrier got underway last May, including Dollar Tree Inc.’s new 12-story headquarters. The 555 Belaire development is a 150,000-square-foot office building, while the Helix will be a mixed-use facility with 133 apartments and first-floor retail and restaurant space. The projects are slated to be complete by this summer.

Cloverleaf Cold Storage is investing $21 million to add more than 100,000 square feet to its refrigerated warehouse in Chesapeake’s Cavalier Industrial Park. With the expansion, the company will hire 33 employees.

Norfolk

Nordstrom, the upscale department store that had been an anchor at MacArthur Center, vacated its lease in April, with several other stores following its lead. In the aftermath, the city is working with MacArthur Center owner Starwood Retail Partners to reinvigorate the space by bringing in residences and a hotel on a vacant property adjacent to the mall. Starwood missed loan payments for the $161 million debt secured by Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, according to news reports in January, but that deal does not affect MacArthur.

Meanwhile, Swedish home goods retailer Ikea opened its second Virginia location last April in Norfolk. Located at Interstate 64 and Northampton Boulevard, the 331,000-square-foot store has 250 employees.

Norfolk, too, is preparing to get into the gaming business if casinos are legalized, with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s hotel and casino project next to Harbor Park, a project approved last year by City Council. In December, Mayor Kenneth Alexander downgraded a $700 million estimate of the casino’s anticipated economic impact to around   $200 million, with about 1,000 jobs expected.

Suffolk

Target Corp. announced plans to expand its Suffolk Upstream Distribution Center, adding a new packaging department and 225 jobs. The expansion represents a $2.8 million capital investment.

Late last year, Amazon.com Services Inc. purchased more than 94 acres in Suffolk’s Northgate Commerce Park for more than $4.5 million, but the company has not revealed its plans for the vacant site. 

Isle of Wight, Franklin, Southampton

In the rural counties of the region, there is also plenty of activity. In Isle of Wight, M&M Milling, an Arkansas-based toll processor, is investing $2.3 million to establish its first East Coast milling location. The company has committed to purchasing 575,000 bushels of Virginia-grown corn over the next three years. 

A familiar name — Hubbard Peanut Company Inc. (Hubs), Virginia’s original gourmet peanut company — is setting up operation in a former Franklin grocery store and investing $1.66 million to build a processing, warehousing and logistics facility, as well as a marketplace to showcase its products. The company plans to hire 10 people and complete the project within the next three years.

Southampton County is betting on a new hemp production facility to stimulate its economy. Bon Bon Farms LLC is investing $8.5 million to renovate the former Asheboro Elastics Corp. facility into a plant that will grow hemp plugs to sell to Southeast farmers and produce CBD oil. The company plans to hire 162 people and work began last November on the 230,000-square-foot facility.

Maritime Association turns 100, eyes expansion

In the Virginia Maritime Association’s 100th year, Ashley McLeod has a wish for inland businesses to recognize the impact of the Port of Virginia on the entire state.

“One in 10 jobs in Virginia is related to maritime supply chains,” says McLeod, the association’s vice president for communications and marketing. “We want to be there for anyone who counts on water for importing and exporting products and listen to what’s going on in their region regarding the supply chain.”

The Norfolk-based association, which promotes port commerce, began as the Norfolk Maritime Exchange, then became the Hampton Roads Maritime Association and adopted its current name in 2006 to recognize its statewide network, which extends to Front Royal’s Virginia Inland Port.

Today, the VMA represents more than 500 companies employing more than 70,000 Virginians. This month, the organization celebrates the 1920 signing of its charter with a ceremony marking the anniversary in Richmond.

“We do business all over the state,” McLeod says, noting that transportation, economic development, technology and the emerging wind energy industry affect companies throughout Virginia. “We want to make sure we’re reaching everyone in the industry and can share their concerns.”

The VMA has established four chapters outside Hampton Roads since 2016: the Richmond-based Central Chapter and others in the Shenandoah Valley, Southern Virginia and Southwest Virginia. A Northern Virginia Chapter is slated to launch early this year.

“Coming to a region and hearing what’s happening really makes a difference for how we advocate for the maritime supply industry as a whole and make sure every voice is heard,” McLeod notes. “It’s relationship building to build a good business environment for the commonwealth as a whole.”

Among other goals, the VMA has lobbied for state and federal support to widen Hampton Roads shipping channels and funding to improve highway infrastructure. Future goals include diversifying imported and exported cargo, increasing broadband connectivity and getting construction sites shovel-ready for companies moving to Virginia.

Martinsville-based Hooker Furniture Corp., which annually imports more than 6,000 40-foot-equivalent containers of furniture through the port’s marine terminals in Norfolk and Portsmouth, joined the VMA in 2011. “It has given us a better understanding of the whole operation process within the Port of Virginia,” says Kimberly Clark, Hooker Furniture’s logistics manager, who also chairs the Southern Chapter. “We are able to stay abreast of legislative issues and legal aspects that may affect our company.”

The VMA’s statewide growth enhances its legislative impact, Clark adds. “The more our chapters grow, the more formidable our influence becomes when collaborating on capital funding for infrastructures like highways.”

Pharrell Williams-backed surf park on its way

After almost a year of negotiations, Virginia Beach City Council has struck a deal with Venture Realty Group to develop a mixed-use surf park and entertainment venue covering three city blocks near the oceanfront.

Called Atlantic Park, the $325 million project will be built on the 10-acre site of The Dome, the geodesic concert venue and civic center that was demolished in 1994. Venture Realty Group teamed up with music superstar and Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams to promote the development as an innovative way to transform the site into a year-round destination for locals and tourists and drive economic development throughout the city.

“We want to be associated with a project that is transformational not only for the oceanfront but for the entire city,” says Michael A. Culpepper, managing partner with the Virginia Beach-based real estate firm.

The project’s centerpiece will be the Wavegarden Lagoon surf park, which will employ innovative wave-making technology from Spain. Similar facilities have opened in Spain, the United Kingdom and Australia, and one is currently under development in California, but this park would be the first on the East Coast. There also will be office space, retail, apartments and parking garages. However, the project’s main focus will be on family-friendly ticketed attractions and a 3,500-seat entertainment venue.

“Very few surf parks are integrated into this type of mixed-use development,” Culpepper says. “It affords us the opportunity to be creative and innovative. Nothing about this project is cookie-cutter.”

Virginia Beach is contributing approximately $95 million to the project for parking, streetscapes and the entertainment center. City Council has approved spending $9 million from the Tourism Improvement Program fund to acquire additional land for the development. Council also would oversee a community development authority to issue and sell bonds and collect real estate taxes inside the park. The city will establish performance grants of up to $5 million annually for 20 years based on tax revenues from Atlantic Park. No general fund tax revenues will be used.

Venture Realty Group will secure financing for $230 million to cover the residential, retail and office sections  and the wave lagoon. Under the development agreement, the firm has approximately nine months to obtain the funds.

Construction is expected to begin in a couple of years, with components of the park set to be in operation in four to five years.

‘Screen-side manner’

For more than a decade, Betty Lowe counted carbs, attended diabetes classes and faithfully took her prescribed medications, yet she was unable to get her blood sugar under control.

Frustrated, the 59-year-old Hillsville resident readily agreed when her primary care physician suggested a telehealth consultation with a University of Virginia endocrinologist. “I would have tried anything,” she says. “I was desperate.”

Lowe’s virtual appointment with U.Va.’s Dr. Richard Santen took place last December at the Tri-Area Community Health Center in Laurel Fork, nearly 200 miles southwest of Charlottesville in remote Carroll County.

Lowe expected the video consultation with Santen would be impersonal, but she was pleasantly surprised. “He was very warm,” Lowe recalls. “I felt like I was actually sitting in the room with him. As he talked to me and asked me questions, he learned where my lack of knowledge was and filled in the gaps pretty quickly.”

Santen adjusted Lowe’s medication to her lifestyle and gave her a telecare monitor to check her sugar levels. The device runs on cellular signals and transmits the numbers to Santen’s office in Charlottesville. Today, Lowe’s diabetes is under control, and she regularly speaks by telephone with Santen, whom she has never met in person. “I feel like I know my doctor and have a relationship with him,” she says. “He’s not that person four hours away from me. He’s my doctor, and he knows me.”

Lowe is among thousands of rural Virginians living hundreds of miles from specialized care providers. Budget constraints and low patient volumes often limit the ability of community hospitals and medical facilities in less-populated areas to attract primary care physicians. Recruiting specialists, such as neurologists, neonatologists, psychiatrists and cardiologists, is even tougher, meaning patients must travel to distant sites for specialized care.

However, travel time has substantially dwindled as a growing number of health care systems harness broadband and wireless technology to deliver critical medical care to patients regardless of their locations.

Telehealth electronically transports doctors to remote clinics, community hospitals and even patients’ homes, where they can review test results, including radiologic images and CT scans, make diagnoses and recommend treatment. Stroke victims can be quickly diagnosed and administered lifesaving drugs, premature infants can be sent home earlier from neonatal intensive care units, diabetes patients can undergo vision screenings for diabetic retinopathy and psychiatrists and counselors can provide mental health therapies.

According to the American Hospital Association, more than half of U.S. hospitals use video and other technologies to reach patients. That number is projected to grow over the next few years due to increased demand for accessible health care services and technological advancements that make it easier than ever for patients and physicians to connect remotely.

Bridging the miles
“Telemedicine bridges the miles between patients and care,” says Dr. Karen Rheuban, director of the University of Virginia’s Karen S. Rheuban Center for Telehealth, which she co-founded in 1996.

The U.Va. center has served more than 100,000 patients in 60-plus clinical disciplines at 150 sites across Virginia, one-third of which are in rural areas. Rheuban estimates that telehealth has saved Virginia patients more than 20 million miles of driving. 

Initially focused on rural areas, U.Va.’s telehealth program has expanded to wherever there is a shortage of specialists. For example, hospitals in Northern Virginia and Waynesboro, as well as Southwest Virginia, participate in U.Va.’s telestroke program. Through video conferencing, U.Va. neurologists review CT scans of possible stroke patients and talk to the patient and emergency room personnel to determine a diagnosis. One recent stroke patient was diagnosed remotely by U.Va. doctors and received the clot-busting drug tPA within 27 minutes of arriving at a community hospital.

“The longer it takes for a stroke patient to get access to medical treatment, the poorer the outcome,” she adds. “We’ve seen amazing outcomes in more than 10 years of doing telestroke services. Patients are evaluated and treated as quickly as if they had come to the U.Va. emergency department.”

U.Va. recently launched a remote monitoring program to check on patients dealing with heart disease, diabetes and stem cell replacement. “It’s an incredible opportunity to better manage patients outside bricks-and-mortar facilities,” Rheuban says. “We can track their vital signs and intervene before they have a critical situation and have to be admitted to the hospital.”

Remote monitoring also decreases the time premature babies or newborns with health issues spend in neonatal intensive care units. “Ordinarily, they would have to stay in the NICU to gain more weight,” Rheuban says. “But we can monitor infants once they get home using iPads. It’s better for the family and lowers the cost of medical care.”

iPatients
Sentara Home Health, which implemented telehealth about 10 years ago, was the first Hampton Roads health care group to do remote patient monitoring, leading to a decrease in emergency room visits and hospital readmissions. Patients use a laptop computer or iPad to measure their blood pressure, pulse, weight and blood glucose. The results are sent to home care nurses who electronically monitor their vital signs.

“We really view telehealth as a way to improve quality, improve service and help lower costs, thus increasing the value of the service we deliver,” says Jordan Asher, senior vice president and chief physician executive for Sentara Healthcare.

With Sentara MDLIVE, a cloud-based software platform, patients can have virtual appointments with physicians and therapists without leaving home. Another service, MyChart, lets Sentara hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other health care sites have secure, electronic access to patient medical records.

“We look at telehealth as a way of solving logistical issues,” Asher adds, noting that MDLIVE has about 100 visits per month, while 413,000 users access MyChart. “We think about it as how do I keep you well and how do I take better care of you when you’re really sick. It gives patients options.”

Ellen Powers used MDLIVE when she could not get in to see her primary care physician for what she feared was a recurrence of impetigo, a highly contagious skin infection. “I would absolutely do it again,” says the Virginia Beach resident, who works with babies at risk for developmental delays. “Speed is what made a difference to me and why I so appreciated it.”

Technology also helps Sentara treat nearly 10,000 of its sickest patients in ICU beds annually through eICU. Intensivists and specially trained nurses working at a central location use high-resolution cameras, monitors, alerts and two-way communication links to check vital signs, X-rays and lab results and communicate with physicians, hospital staff, patients and family members. 

A growing number of telehealth services also focus on mental health. The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at The Up Center in Virginia Beach offers virtual counseling for individuals, couples and families, and telehealth group therapy may be added in the future. “Some people feel more comfortable being in their own home,” says Iman Williams Christians, the clinic’s director. “It makes them more willing to enter therapy.”

Telemedicine has also alleviated the scarcity of psychiatrists in rural areas. “Telemedicine extends psychiatrists’ reach,” says Steve Morgan, chief medical information officer for Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic. “A rural patient’s primary care doctor initiates a psychiatric consult over telemedicine. It’s a learning opportunity for the primary care doctor in treating mental health.”

Etiquette lessons
Carilion implemented telemedicine in 2016 and has expanded it to include skilled nursing facilities, telestroke and pediatric specialties. “This is a way to extend care in a more collaborative way to our communities and patients,” Morgan says, noting that most U.S. health systems place digital health among their top three priorities. “It saves travel times, and communities are starting to ask for this service.”

To bring physicians up to speed on technology and virtual etiquette, Carilion has begun teaching how to practice medicine on-screen, via video. “It’s a learned skill to some degree,” Morgan says. “The folks who do this more frequently teach others.”

Telehealth education has not been required in any medical or nursing school curriculum, notes Tina Gustin, director of Old Dominion University’s Center for Telehealth Innovation, Education and Research. “Most people realize that’s a problem. You have practitioners suddenly using telehealth who have never been trained in it. Everybody is scrambling to catch up.”

Health care students from ODU, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Virginia Wesleyan University and Hampton University participate in interprofessional education at the center, learning telehealth etiquette — or what Gustin refers to as “screen-side manner.”

That includes wearing neutral colors, engaging in small talk with patients and refraining from shuffling papers or looking down. “We remind students that they are not text-chatting with friends,” she says. “Little movements are incredibly distracting on telehealth.”

Along with etiquette, ODU also teaches state policies governing telehealth. “The policies and regulations are changing rapidly,” Gustin notes. “New graduates and providers in the community need to know them.”
Connectivity is also an issue in many rural areas. More than 600,000 Virginians do not have broadband internet service in their homes, says U.Va.’s Rheuban, adding  that the Federal Communications Commission has a $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program to help defray costs of bringing broadband technology to selected rural areas. “We think this will be a transformative opportunity for us to evaluate the delivery of remote monitoring tools in homes for underserved populations.” In addition, the Virginia General Assembly created the Broadband Infrastructure Loan Fund to help remote communities improve their broadband availability.

Earlier this year, the legislature passed a bill requiring insurers to cover remote patient monitoring. State employee health plans have included telehealth coverage for years, notes Gene Raney, director of the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management’s Office of Health Benefits. Two of the state’s three self-insured plans contain telehealth options. “The only challenge is to help people understand it’s available in a way they will recall and try when they are sick,” he says. “A lot of times for something like this, it’s a matter of a co-worker trying it and having good success.”

For Betty Lowe, who was able to have brain surgery for a malformation after getting her sugars under control, that success was lifesaving. “I’m doing awesome,” she says. “Telemedicine saved my life.”

Portsmouth native leads regional economic development alliance

After nearly three years as Norfolk’s city manager, Douglas L. Smith is shifting his focus to the entire region as the newly installed president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance.

A former deputy city manager for Virginia Beach and Portsmouth, Smith took the reins of HREDA from interim president and CEO Steve Herbert in September. However, he’s not a newcomer to Hampton Roads’ leading economic development marketing organization, having served as vice chairman of its board of directors.

The Portsmouth native’s experience and knowledge of the region make him ideally suited to lead the Alliance, says Brian K. Skinner, chief banking officer for TowneBank and chairman of HREDA’s board. “Doug is uniquely positioned to serve us in this role. He knows our Hampton Roads region better than anyone and is the perfect candidate for where we want to take the Alliance long term.”

Long focused on recruiting new businesses, HREDA now emphasizes business retention and expansion, after a 2018 assessment reported a lack of enterprise growth and job creation during the past decade.

“Attracting investment from outside the region is important,” Smith says, “but it’s only a piece of what needs to happen. Real job growth involves existing businesses and helping companies that are already here to expand. If we do those things well, we should be able to generate 80,000 to 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.”

HREDA aims to attract and retain companies in several sectors, including shared services, information technology and advanced manufacturing, with a focus on transport technologies, food and beverage processes, and distribution and logistics.

“We think we have a competitive advantage,” Smith says, noting that the Port of Virginia, military bases and tourism will always be Hampton Roads’ economic pillars. “They are our strengths and what attracts certain industries to this market. The challenge is to add to those pillars and diversify the economy.”

Smith calls the 11 HREDA member localities’ unanimous approval of an economic development memorandum of understanding with the alliance last spring “a watershed moment for the region. The business community, local government and economic development officials are aligned in a desire to work together in a way I’ve never seen before. They’re starting to understand that economic development occurs at a regional level with no regard to political jurisdictions. That is really exciting.”