Dominion Energy Archives - Page 3 of 6

At Dominion wind hearings, continued disputes over ratepayer protections

May 20, 2022 — After two and a half days of testimony in Richmond, consumer protection advocates continue to disagree with Dominion Energy over whether regulators should require further safeguards for ratepayers as the utility seeks approval for its plans to build a massive wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach.

“There is no blank check for this project,” said Joseph Reid, an attorney from McGuireWoods who represented Dominion in the case before the State Corporation Commission, on Tuesday.

But Senior Assistant Attorney General Meade Browder told the SCC that the office’s Division of Consumer Counsel remains concerned that customers face significant risks from the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

“Our position is that approval should come with meaningful protections that mitigate the risk to ratepayers, who are currently set up to bear the financial risk if the CVOW project proves to be more costly to construct and operate than is projected or if the performance of the project does not meet the level projected by the company,” he said.

If built, CVOW will be the largest wind farm in the United States, producing 2.6 gigawatts of power — more than what is generated by the state’s nuclear units and its largest gas plant combined — from 176 turbines sunk into the Atlantic Ocean 27 miles off Virginia Beach.

The project is both a key component of Dominion’s plans to decarbonize its fleet by midcentury in line with the Virginia Clean Economy Act and, with an estimated price tag of $9.65 billion, the most expensive endeavor the utility has undertaken to date. If approved by regulators, the average residential customer, defined as someone who uses 1,000 kilowatts of power every month, would see their monthly bill initially rise by $1.45. SCC staff have estimated that figure could rise to $14.21 by the time the project enters operation in 2027.

Read the full story at the Virginia Mercury

VIRGINIA: Dominion makes its case to SCC for $9.65 billion from customers to build wind farm

May 18, 2022 — Acknowledging the risk of cost overruns but saying it doesn’t anticipate any, Dominion Energy made its case Tuesday to state regulators for approval of $9.65 billion from its Virginia customers to build the country’s largest offshore wind farm.

Dominion representatives touted the project’s job creation and reduction in carbon emissions. They promised in a hearing before the Virginia State Corporation Commission to promptly notify the commission if costs are expected to exceed current estimates.

The attorney general’s office, the advocacy group Clean Virginia and others told commissioners they’re concerned about the potential for even higher costs on such a large construction project and in an economy with supply chain disruption and inflation.

No party in the case, in which the SCC is considering approval of the 176-turbine project and its costs, asked the commission to reject the request. A 2020 state law essentially directs the commission to approve the project if Dominion meets certain parameters, which the company said it had.

Dominion’s $9.65 billion capital cost estimate was down from a previous $9.8 billion estimate, which itself was up from an earlier estimate of $7.8 billion.

Read the full story at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia wind farm job claims questioned by state regulators

April 26, 2022 — As Virginia-based Dominion Energy seeks to build what it calls the country’s largest offshore wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean, the company and its supporters have touted the economic development opportunities expected to accompany the 176-turbine project.

But state regulators, who are currently considering whether to grant approval for the massive project, say the economic picture might not be so rosy.

In testimony filed earlier this month, regulators said that in claiming the wind farm will create jobs and tax growth, the company relied on a “stale” study that didn’t account for the impact of its Virginia electric utility ratepayers bearing the cost of the nearly $10 billion project. The State Corporation Commission’s own analysis found the project was expected to come with an economic cost — including 1,100 lost jobs in the first five rate-years of the project — that might negate any “speculative” benefits.

“Any economic benefits that are likely to arise will do so as a result of new investment in industries in Hampton Roads and Virginia that support offshore wind facility development. The degree to which this new investment occurs is speculative,” according to the commission analysis from Mark Carsley, a utilities manager in the division of public utility regulation.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

Virginia AG: Costs high, benefits uncertain from Dominion wind proposal

March 30, 2022 — The Virginia Attorney General’s Office in a new filing says Dominion Energy’s proposal for a large offshore wind farm is not needed for the utility’s capacity, costs two to three times more than solar energy, and that the company has overstated the project’s economic benefits.

The Friday filing was made at the Virginia State Corporation Commission by the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Counsel, which represents consumer interests before the commission. The commission is considering Dominion’s plan for a $9.8 billion wind farm with about 180 turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach.

VIRGINIA: Dominion offshore wind farm cost climbs to $9.8B

November 8, 2021 — Dominion Energy Inc.’s offshore wind farm will cost about $2 billion more than expected, the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility’s chair, president and CEO, Bob Blue, said during a third quarter earnings call Friday.

Instead of the previously estimated $7.8 billion, the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project will cost approximately $9.8 billion, Blue said, attributing the roughly 25% cost increase to rising commodities expenses and general cost pressures across a number of industries right now amid mounting inflation. Additionally, Blue cited costs associated with the need to build about 17 miles of new transmission lines and other onshore infrastructure associated with the project.

Dominion plans to build the 180 wind-turbine farm 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, with construction beginning in 2024. When completed in 2026, the wind farm is expected to power 660,000 homes. The wind farm will cost residential customers about $4 per month over the estimated 30-year lifespan of the wind farm, a Dominion spokesperson said.

Read the full story at Virginia Business

$200 million wind turbine facility planned for Virginia

October 26, 2021 — Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and executives from Dominion Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy on Monday announced a $200 million project to finish building turbine blades that would harness offshore wind on 80 acres of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

A lineup of local, state and federal leaders said the project, the largest in the United States, positioned Virginia at the forefront of developing wind energy. “This puts us a vital step closer to being the leader in offshore wind,” Northam said, adding that in a few short years the state had pivoted from exploring offshore drilling, which would harm the environment, to offshore wind. “Virginia,” he said, “is all in for offshore wind.”

The facility, combined with its operations and maintenance activities, will create 310 new jobs, including 50 service positions to support Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project 27 miles off the coast. Dominion says the wind farm will generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes at peak and avoid as much as 5 million tons of carbon dioxide being dumped into the atmosphere annually.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Port of Virginia Expands Dominion Energy Lease to Create Wind Port

August 27, 2021 — The Port of Virginia reached an agreement to lease a dramatically increased portion of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal to Dominion Energy. The agreement, which positions the port to become a leader in the emerging offshore wind energy sector, puts to use an idle terminal area converting it into a large pre-assembly and staging area for the planned wind farm off the Virginia coast. Previously, the port had agreed to a lease to create a small staging area.

Under the new agreement, Dominion Energy will use 72 acres of the deep-water, multi-use marine cargo Portsmouth Marine Terminal as a staging and pre-assembly area for the foundations and turbines that will be installed 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Expected to be in service by the mid-decade, the Virginia wind project will produce more than 2,600 megawatts of renewable energy.

“This announcement is yet another milestone toward making Virginia the national leader in offshore wind power,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “The Commonwealth and Dominion Energy are standing together to promote clean energy, reduce carbon emissions, create jobs, and build a new American industry on the East Coast of the United States.”

The lease term is 10 years—valued at nearly $4.4 million annually—and includes an option for two five-year renewals. In January 2020, Virginia had agreed to a lease for 1.7 acres at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal through 2026, with options to expand to 40 acres. The original plan called for the terminal to operate solely as a staging area.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

U.S. to review proposed Dominion Energy wind farm off Virginia

July 2, 2021 — The U.S. government will conduct an environmental review of a potential wind power project off the coast of Virginia, the Biden administration said on Thursday, part of an effort to create tens of thousands of jobs in the business by 2030.

Dominion Energy’s (D.N) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project calls for construction and operation of up to 205 wind turbines capable of generating up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity by 2026. The turbines would be located more than 20 nautical miles off the Virginia coast.

Dominion says the project, when fully built, could power up to 660,000 homes.

The Biden administration wants to develop 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, creating nearly 80,000 jobs.

“Recent technological advances, falling costs, and tremendous economic potential make offshore wind a promising avenue for diversifying our national energy portfolio, creating good-paying union jobs, and tackling climate change,” Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland said in a release.

Read the full story at Reuters

VIRGINIA WIND TURBINE PILOT PROGRAM EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

June 23, 2021 — The two-turbine pilot program of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind venture has yielded better results than expected.

The pilot is Dominion’s precursor for plans to install 180 wind turbines in a leased block on the Atlantic’s continental shelf roughly 27 miles off Virginia Beach, at a cost currently projected at $8 billion. In doing so, Dominion is following a General Assembly directive to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Running since October, the two 600-foot tall pilot turbines, each driven by three 253-foot-long blades, are giving Dominion’s engineers a real-world education in the potential for Virginia coastal wind power. The turbines’ efficiency over winter and spring is beating the forecasts, and their downtime for maintenance is less than expected (about two percent). Automated controllers that turn their mounts to “aim” them and adjust the blade angles to “harvest” the wind have proven more effective than human operators.

Still to be determined, though, is how well they perform in the summer months when winds drop below the 5–8 knots needed to start the blades. Scientific field studies are showing fish using the area and minimal interactions with birds, according to cameras on the towers.

The news may be encouraging, but the project still faces many challenges. The immediate one is the environmental impact statement needed for the full 180-turbine wind farm. Dominion plans to have a draft out for public comment next year and a final version in the fall of 2023.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Coastal Virginia project set to be next Biden milestone for offshore wind

June 18, 2021 — Twenty-seven miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, stand two offshore wind turbines, each taller than the Washington Monument, generating power for up to 3,000 homes.

In five years, Dominion Energy hopes to be finishing construction of its own ocean skyline — complete with 180 turbines standing roughly 200 feet taller than the pilot project, three underwater power substations, and a deep-sea transmission line to bring that electricity to shore.

The Virginia-based utility expects the commercial project, now the largest proposed offshore wind project in the country, to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity. That is enough zero-carbon electricity to power 660,000 homes.

Dominion Energy’s offshore wind efforts are a microcosm of what is happening all up and down the eastern seaboard. States and power companies invest billions in putting turbines in the water and turning East Coast ports into offshore wind industry hubs.

Read the full story at The Washington Examiner