Category: Energy
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Will Democrats Revisit Virginia Net Zero Laws?
By Steve Haner For the third year in a row, Democrats in the Virginia Senate have shot down an effort to divorce Virginia’s auto dealers from California’s impending mandates on electric vehicle sales. But before the predetermined vote went down, the new chair of the committee made a surprise announcement that he and his colleagues…
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Thank Coal, Gas for Your Warm House Today
By Steve Haner Good morning, Virginia. Your lights and heat are on, and you can thank coal and natural gas. Here are the 8 a.m. charts from PJM’s website, which you can check periodically today as the winter weather closes in. Those fuels were providing more than 66% of our electricity, with nuclear providing almost…
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As Dominion and APCO $oar, NOVEC Drops Rates
By Steve Haner The major “rural” electric cooperative serving very urban Northern Virginia is drastically lowering its rates as of this month, because the cost it is paying for bulk power purchases has dropped. The contrast with what is happening with Virginia’s two major investor-owned electric companies may be telling Virginia something if anybody wants…
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SCC Examiner Says No to Dominion Gas Plans
By Steve Haner A hearing examiner at the Virginia State Corporation Commission has recommended rejection of Dominion Virginia Energy’s plan to maintain and add to its fleet of fossil fuel generators. It failed to overcome the presumption in state law that all such plants must go away, she wrote. In her extensive report following the…
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Virginia’s Final (Maybe) RGGI Tax Grab: $97M
by Steve Haner Virginia has participated in its final (for a while anyway) Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction and the proceeds on the carbon tax set a new record, with Virginia collecting more than $97 million in one swoop. The total carbon tax take for the state is just under $828 million in three years.…
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Virginia Beach Nixes Kitty Hawk Wind Cables
by Steve Haner The political leaders of the City of Virginia Beach have informed an offshore wind developer that they oppose its plan to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. No formal vote was taken on the application, however, according to media reports. The story appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and on local television station…
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Excess Profits Squeezed Out From Dominion Rates
By Steve Haner The long struggle to prevent Dominion Energy Virginia from earning excess profits in its base rates year after year appears to be over and consumers finally won. That is the main takeaway as the first general review of its base rates since the 2023 regulatory re-write is moving toward a quick settlement.…
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Dominion Wind May Be Sued, Hikes Customer Bills
by Steve Haner Two national activist groups on energy and environmental issues, both with connections to Virginia, have taken the first legal steps to challenge the recent federal approvals for Virginia’s planned offshore wind complex. Most of what follows is directly from their announcement dated November 14. The Heartland Institute and the Committee for a Constructive…
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Court Blocks Pennsylvania from Joining RGGI
by Steve Haner A state court in Pennsylvania has ruled that the regulatory decision to enroll that state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) exceeded the authority of state regulators. It ruled RGGI is a tax that could only be lawfully imposed by the legislature. It was the Republican majority in one of the…
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Dominion’s Wind Project Wins Federal Approval
The Biden Administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued final approval for the construction of Dominion Energy Virginia’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Here is the release. A few more steps remain and should be completed by late January, according to BOEM. The announcement, fully expected since all previous U.S. projects have been…
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The Californication of Virginia
by Kerry Dougherty Does anyone really think fewer gas mowers will make a difference? More importantly, is it the role of government to tell citizens what they must use to trim their fescue? Of course it isn’t. Why should we in Virginia care? Because we’re just one car back on California’s crazy train. During the…
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Electric Vehicles May Be Worse for the Environment than Gasoline-Powered Ones
by Hans Bader Electric vehicles require enormous damage to the environment just to produce their batteries — 250 tons of mining is required for a single battery, according to Real Clear Energy. Switching to electric cars would require a radical expansion of mining across the world, and the minerals for the car batteries will be…
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Voters Will Decide Virginia’s Future Direction
by Derrick Max In two weeks, the people of Virginia will decide on two competing visions for the future of Virginia. Will they elect a General Assembly favoring Governor Glenn Youngkin’s more freedom-oriented policy vision, or will they elect a General Assembly returning the Commonwealth to the statist policy vision of former governors Terry McAuliffe…
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The High Stakes in Virginia’s Very Close Nov. 7 Election
from Liberty Unyielding Virginia is holding a very close election. The last day to vote is on Tuesday, November 7. If you live in Virginia, you can also vote early, at specified locations, on Monday through Friday, from September 22 to November 3, or on Saturday, October 28 or November 4. Voters are almost evenly…
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NY Ratepayers Better Protected Than Virginia’s
By Steve Haner The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) last week told several offshore wind developers it would not approve changes in their state contracts, putting several planned ocean turbine projects into jeopardy. The story is important for its contrast to how Virginia faces the same future.