Tag: Solar energy
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Dominion Long-Range Plan: More Solar, More Gas
Dominion Virginia Energy filed this afternoon its 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), an updated 15-year strategic plan. The IRP reiterates the utility’s commitment to more natural gas and more solar power as a path to a lower carbon future. There’s a lot to cover here, so I will just hit the highlights today, and I’ll…
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PJM to Analyze Long-Term Grid Resilience
PJM Interconnection, operator of the regional transmission grid of which Virginia is a part, says the electric grid handled the 12-day bout of extreme cold weather in January with plenty of margin to spare. But given the evolving energy mix in the multi-state region serving 65 million Americans — more gas, wind and solar, less…
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No, Coal Did Not Save the Grid in January
Contrary to a recent report that coal-generated electricity prevented a system collapse during January’s “bomb cyclone” deep freeze, PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization of which Virginia is a part, says it had plenty of reserve capacity. The reason PJM dispatched so much electricity from coal-fired units was that it was cheaper than electricity generated…
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The Biggest Corporate Purchase of Solar Power in the U.S… Ever
Microsoft Corp. plans to buy about 60% of the energy production from a massive solar power project in Spotsylvania County to power its data centers in Virginia. The proposed 500-megawatt solar development, called Pleinmont, would include more than 750,000 solar panels on a 3,500-acre site, which, when completed, would be the fifth-largest solar site in…
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The Great Grid Grab
Who gets what from a Dominion-backed legislative package overhauling Virginia’s electric grid? At this point, there are more questions than answers. Last week lawmakers friendly to Dominion Energy Virginia introduced sweeping legislation, The Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018, which would increase investment in Virginia’s electric grid with the goals of increasing renewable energy,…
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Solar Projects Progress in Orange, Campbell
Speaking of Dominion Energy Virginia’s commitment to solar (see previous post)… Apco commits to solar… Appalachian Power Co., Virginia’s second largest electric utility, has signed an agreement to purchase electricity from the 15-megawatt Depot Solar Center in Campbell County as part its shift from coal to renewables. The deal represents the utility’s first commitment to…
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Another Arcane Obstacle to Solar Power
Some of the barriers to solar energy in Virginia are tucked away in the bowels of state government and the byzantine rules by which it operates. One obstacle, since resolved, was a state rule granting solar projects an 80% tax exemption from property taxes under the guise of pollution control equipment. One would think the…
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Inside the Facebook Solar Deal
As part of the $1 billion Facebook data-center deal, Dominion Energy Virginia will file a request with the State Corporation Commission to create a new kind of solar tariff called Schedule RF. (The RF stands for Renewable Facility.) The tariff, if approved, could be used by other big customers seeking renewable energy. “We came together…
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Electric Coops Vet Community Solar Plan
Subscribers to a community solar program in the works by five Virginia electrical cooperatives would pay a rate premium of 42% to 45% to use clean, renewable energy, according to data released by the electric coops. The five rural cooperatives, who may be joined by others in a State Corporation Commission (SCC) filing late October…
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Buried Lines and Microgrids
Virginia has enjoyed a welcome respite from meteorological history, having dodged full-fledged hurricanes since Hurricane Isabel struck the Old Dominion in 2003 and Hurricane Gaston in 2004. But sooner or later, we’ll get hammered again. After surveying the devastation of Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria, made worse by the total collapse of the territory’s electric…
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Dominion Touts Economic Benefits of Pumped-Storage Project
A proposed pumped hydroelectric storage power station in Southwest Virginia would bring more than $576 million in economic benefits to the Commonwealth, including $320 million in economic impact for Southwest Virginia, according to a study prepared by Richmond-based Chmura Economics & Analytics and commissioned by Dominion Energy. The hydroelectric project, proposed by Dominion Energy, would…
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The Long, Painful Slog to Resolving the Net Metering Debate
After a two-hour telephone discussion Thursday, participants in a “net metering” sub-group of the Solar Policy Collaborative Workgroup didn’t seem to agree on much other than which issues need to be resolved. But that represented progress of a sort toward promoting small-scale, distributed solar energy in Virginia by businesses, homeowners and nonprofits. “These are very…
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Workgroup Seeks Compromises to Move Solar Forward
The consensus-building workgroup that fostered 2017 legislation to promote community solar energy in Virginia reconvened Monday to grapple with more intractable issues that stand in the way of widespread adoption of solar power. Participants in the Solar Policy Collaborative Workgroup had clashed repeatedly in the General Assembly over the years, but decided to pursue a…
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Why Panda Power Loves Natural Gas
Yesterday I wrote about the 778-megawatt gas-fired Panda Stonewall power station starting up near Leesburg. Against the backdrop of ongoing debate over gas versus solar here in Virginia, I wondered why the Dallas, Tex., investors behind the plant were willing to risk more than half a billion dollars in equity and debt on a merchant…
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McAuliffe Moves to Cap Utility Carbon Emissions
Big news yesterday: Governor Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order to cap greenhouse gas emissions from Virginia power plants. Unfortunately, I’m out of town on personal business today, so I don’t have time for anything more than a cursory analysis. Said McAuliffe in a press release: ““The threat of climate change is real, and we have a…