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Solar developers take another swing at Dominion’s rules for mid-size projects
Several Virginia solar developers are again asking regulators to tell Dominion Energy to suspend rules that the developers say are holding up mid-size projects for governments, schools and nonprofits throughout the state. On Aug. 16, the Distributed Solar Alliance filed its latest petition seeking injunctive relief with the State Corporation Commission, which regulates Virginia’s utilities. […]
Youngkin appoints environmental justice advocate to council
The latest appointments to the state’s Council on Environmental justice include Hope Cupit, a former Air Pollution Control Board member who has consistently raised awareness on the topic, and Eureka Tyree, vice chair of the Cumberland County Board of Supervisors. Two seats on the air board, one of which was Cupit’s, have also been filled […]
Report attributes Mountain Valley Pipeline test failure to manufacturer defect
A third-party report commissioned by Mountain Valley Pipeline developers has found the cause of a test failure in May was due to a manufacturer defect and not corrosion issues, a concern environmental advocates have continuously raised about the project that took about a decade to complete before coming online earlier this year. The report, from […]
Dominion still facing opposition to natural gas plant proposal after location change
Dominion Energy decided last week to build its proposed natural gas plant at its former coal-fired Chesterfield Power Station in Chesterfield County, instead of at an entirely new site, but community concerns remain. In a statement, Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said the utility made the decision to move the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center proposal from […]
Va. Dept. of Health maintaining water advisory for Rapidan River area
A do not drink water advisory is in effect for customers of the Rapidan Service Authority that serves the central Piedmont area of the state, including Orange County, because of an odor emanating from the water. But the question remains: what’s causing the smell? On Wednesday, the Virginia Department of Health and RSA had initially […]
Dominion wins second offshore wind lease area with lone bid
Dominion Energy is spending $17.65 million for another piece of the ocean to expand its offshore wind energy. Virginia’s largest utility was the lone bidder for the lease of 176,506 acres about 35 miles off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management auction Wednesday. The win means Dominion Energy […]
Virginia Tobacco Commission considering second round of energy grant requests
Virginia’s Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission is considering how to spend $12 million for energy projects as part of a legislative mandate to revitalize the economy of two regions no longer reaping the economic benefits of the tobacco industry. At a meeting last week, the commisisons’ Energy Ingenuity Committee discussed applications it has received for two […]
University of Mary Washington students studying loss of Shark Tooth Island
Think back to being a kid, and imagine how cool it would have been to find a shark tooth in the sand. One island in Virginia with a collection of those fossils from the ocean’s top predator may be gone in a matter of decades, preventing future generations from making such discoveries. “I started going […]
Costs for electricity during extreme weather rising; Dominion says nothing to worry about — yet
The regional electric grid that supplies power to Virginia during times of extreme weather announced a 1,400% increase in some electric costs after its most recent capacity auction. But Dominion officials were quick to assure customers that they would not see an increase in their bills before the end of next year. PJM Interconnection, which […]
Virginia Department of Health unveils draft septic regulations to account for climate change
As more intense rainfall has allowed pollution to flow into the James River through Richmond’s overwhelmed city sewer system, the state has introduced draft proposals for septic systems used in more rural areas, to tackle another aspect of climate change that impacts pollution controls: rising sea and groundwater levels. Last month, Virginia began its early […]
Federal government awards $150 million to reduce emissions in Virginia
Virginia is the recipient of two federal grants to capture climate changing emissions, one focused on methane and another on promoting natural solutions to capture carbon. The funds, about $150 million, are from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act. “Investments such as this are paramount […]
Virginia Department of Forestry takes down 4 p.m. burn ban signs
The Virginia Department of Forestry is changing how it warns people about a state fire safety law that makes burning anything before 4 p.m. illegal, by removing the physical burn ban signs along roadways and posting digital notices on the information highway of the internet, instead. During the spring wildfire season each year Feb. 15 […]