Proposed Power Plant In Virginia Casts Doubt on Its Commitments to Clean Energy
This article was authored by a 3rd party not related to PlanetVoters.com and any opinions or views expressed are not a reflection of PlanetVoters.com.
The company has proposed building a natural gas facility in Chesterfield, Virginia, despite laws mandating it reach zero-emissions by 2045.
By Jake Bolster
November 10, 2023
In 2020, the Virginia Assembly passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, a law that required the state’s largest utility provider, Dominion Energy, to generate all of its power using only renewable energy by 2045.
But this summer, with a little over two decades to transition away from fossil fuels, the company revived previously shelved plans to build a large natural gas power plant in Chesterfield, Virginia, raising alarms with residents, environmental activists and climate scientists.
In its permit filing for the project, Dominion noted that renewable energy sources like wind and solar reduced greenhouse gas emissions, but called them “operationally unreliable.” The utility said that fossil-fuel-powered plants are necessary to “respond rapidly to changes in generation from both the renewable sources and normal changes in power demand.”
Dominion has called the new Chesterfield plant a “peaker,” ostensibly meaning it would only operate during periods of high electrical demand. In its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, which is awaiting approval by the State Corporation Commission (SCC), Dominion said it expects a large increase in energy demand driven by a concentration of data centers in Northern Virginia, America’s most important hub for internet traffic and infrastructure.
To read the full article, click here:
