SCC approves Dominion’s $9.8B offshore wind farm
The State Corporation Commission has approved Dominion Energy Inc.’s application for the proposed $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project (CVOW), which calls for the construction of 176 wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility has already erected two pilot t[...]
Va. receives $22.7M to reclaim abandoned mine lands
The Virginia Department of Energy will receive $22.7 million in federal funding toward redeveloping abandoned mine lands across the commonwealth, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The funding is aimed at redeveloping the sites so that they can be used to attract new development and job opportunities to the region. Handled[...]
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 [...]
BWXT subsidiary to build first U.S. nuclear microreactor
BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Lynchburg-based nuclear components and fuel supplier BWX Technologies Inc., will build the first advanced nuclear microreactor in the United States under a $300 million contract awarded by the Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office, the company announced Thur[...]
Four Va. businesses to receive flood solutions funding
Four Virginia-based small businesses focused on coastal resiliency and flooding will receive funding to develop their products, Norfolk-based nonprofit RISE Resilience Innovations announced Thursday. Divided between rural and urban projects, there were eight winning projects, with the other four based in North Carolina. More tha[...]
Lynchburg-based BWXT elects new chair
Lynchburg-based nuclear components and fuel supplier BWX Technologies Inc. announced May 3 that Jan A. Bertsch assumed the role of chair of the board of directors. Bertsch succeeded retiring chairman John A. Fees. “We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Jan’s caliber assume this important leadership position for our c[...]
Tilting toward windmills
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A.’s October 2021 announcement that it will build the nation’s first offshore-wind blade factory at Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) has put Hampton Roads on a trajectory to become a supply chain hub for the country’s nascent offshore-wind energy industry. The Spanish wind turbine company [...]
Bill Buchanan named CEO of BARC Electric Co-op
Millboro-based BARC Electric Cooperative has named Bill Buchanan as CEO, replacing Michael Keyser, who left the cooperative in December 2021. Buchanan will take over as CEO effective May 9. Chief Operations Officer Chris Botulinski has been filling in as interim CEO and will return to his role as COO, the cooperative announced M[...]
Fluence to acquire renewable energy SaaS company
Arlington-based energy storage and digital application company Fluence Energy Inc. announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Nispera AG. Nispera is a Zurich-based artificial intelligence and machine learning-enabled software-as-a-service company that targets the renewable energy sector. It helps clients m[...]
Report: More cuts needed to meet net zero by 2050
Clean energy policies enacted in Virginia put the state on the path to cutting carbon emissions, but the commonwealth likely won’t reach net zero emissions by 2050 without more work, according to a new report released Monday by U.Va.’s Environmental Resilience Institute. The report set carbon dioxide emissions reduc[...]
Va. Energy seeks applications for mine reclamation projects
Companies with three or more years of mining and reclamation experience may apply for a chance to bid on the state’s Abandoned Mine Land projects, the Virginia Department of Energy announced this week. Projects involve removing safety hazards and environmental issues resulting from coal mining before 1977. Applicants will [...]
Power plays
Virginia’s largest electric utilities are deploying an array of technologies as they decarbonize, digitalize and decentralize their power grids to meet the state’s and their own clean energy goals. Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. and Charleston, West Virginia-headquartered Appalachian Power are expanding their solar, win[...]