5/1/23 Virginia lawmakers remain deadlocked over two vacancies on the powerful three-member regulatory body that oversees utilities, the Virginia SCC.
4/4/23 IRS releases guidance and energy community map, showing many places in Virginia and Hampton Roads can get an extra 10% tax credit for being adjacent to a closed coal facility.
3/30/23 A central Virginia climate advocacy group awards minority-owned small businesses grants to pay for energy-efficient appliances and lighting
3/6/23 Wind, solar and storage account for 83% of new capacity that energy developers plan to bring online in the U.S. this year, according to federal data
2/2023 Dominion publishes a report on the Risk of Natural Gas Stranded Assets, as requested by a 2022 shareholder resolution. Also available at the bottom of their ESG page.
2/19/23 Dominion Energy has spent the last 15 years making a mockery of Virginia’s regulatory compact with utilities by using lobbyists and legislative trickery to rake in $1.9 billion more than what’s allowable, writes a former state lawmaker
2/18/23 Founded by a conservative political operative to fight a rural Virginia solar farm, a so-called citizens group that spreads misinformation to fight arrays on farmland has since exported its playbook to 11 other states (NPR)
2/16/23 Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to build a small modular nuclear reactor fails his own criteria because such reactors aren’t reliable, affordable or clean, writes a community organizer
2/8/23 Info from Hampton Roads Planning Transportation Organization (HRPTO) on grants available to localities for EV Community Charging: new program for installing EV chargers in locations on public roads, schools, parks, and in publicly accessible parking facilities. HRPTO will provide maps showing existing chargers and to best determine where new chargers should be placed.
2/3/23 Solar United Neighbors provides a guide to farms and rural businesses to apply for a REAP grant to get up to 40% of their solar paid for. Go here to see if your business qualifies as rural (have to click Rural Business and select REAP program to get to map).
2/3/23 The Energy Department’s loan programs leader Jigar Shah shares how he turned the “essentially dormant” office into a clean energy-lending powerhouse
1/30/23 Coal power’s rising costs and renewables’ increasing competitiveness mean it would now be cheaper to replace all but one of the U.S.’s coal-fired power plants with brand new solar and wind generation, a clean energy policy firm’s analysis finds.
And, In North Carolina, the same analysis finds Duke Energy spends twice as much money operating its six North Carolina coal-fired power plants than it would replacing them with solar.
1/9/23 Dominion’s Climate Report 2022, and also Ivy Main’s cogent commentary on same, pointing out that Dominion now shows solar dominating Virginia energy portfolio by 2040 in all scenarios
12/29/22 White House Guidebook on Inflation Reduction Act available
12/29/22 New center to help Virginia prepare for climate change
12/12/22 A Virginia community solar project is delayed by Dominion Energy’s demands that it build a high-speed fiber optic line to the nearest substation, which will increase costs by 50%
12/7/22 Air board votes to begin Virginia’s official withdrawal from regional carbon market, but debates over legality of move persist
12/2/22 Virginia now counts 26 electric buses among its fleet, and is working on solutions to recharge them throughout the day
11/23/22 Dominion wants to keep Wise County coal plant open
11/7/2022 Dominion Energy launches ‘top-to-bottom’ review of businesses
10/28/22 Dominion, AG reach proposed agreement in offshore wind case
10/26/22 In its effort to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative is constructing five new solar projects, four of which will be in Virginia, that will generate 22.5 MW
10/26/22 America’s entire school bus fleet could be electric by 2030
10/18/22 Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s recently released energy plan ignores climate change and the state’s clean energy law, writes an energy columnist
10/17/22 Dominion Energy files a plan with Virginia to build or buy 23 new solar and energy storage projects, including the purchase of a 167 MW solar farm from a Michigan developer
10/10/22 Dominion Energy’s insistence on shirking a performance guarantee on its planned offshore wind farm exposes the utility’s commitment to investors over ratepayers
10/3/22 Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin unveils a new state energy plan that aims to boost hydrogen, small nuclear reactors and carbon capture while rolling back or reassessing recent utility and clean energy legislation
10/3/22 A Virginia county board considers a zoning change to clear the way for Dominion Energy to build a 100 MW solar farm with battery storage to power homes and Dulles International Airport
9/8/22 Biden Administration launches portal to help communities assess exposure to climate hazards
9/23/22 A columnist questions how Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will respond to a requirement to draft a plan to transition to a net-zero carbon energy economy by 2045
9/24/22 Virginia plans to use $100 million from the federal government over five years to install electric vehicle chargers along interstates
9/22/22 Pink Energy, aka PowerHome Solar, closes after multiple problems
9/16/22 The use of power purchase agreements has enabled Virginia’s K-12 schools to double their solar capacity over the last two years
9/12/22 DOE Launches SolarAPP+ Prize to Streamline Solar Permitting
9/7/22 Virginia lawmakers fail to reach deal on SCC pick
9/2/22 New study finds cost of carbon is 3-4 times higher than previously thought; deadly heat waves, crop failure due to drought, rising sea levels, wildfires, and more intense hurricanes all add to costs of climate change
8/18/22 Danville City Council approves solar power agreement for 20 MW of solar
8/17/22 10 years of jobs in coal country: 12 schools in Wise and Lee counties will soon be powered through solar energy, and their students are learning the trade in the process
8/11/22 An energy company and housing nonprofit announce a program to offer shared solar to residents of more than 70 affordable apartment communities in Virginia
8/2/22 Fairfax County is exploring being the first Virginia locality to create a “green bank” as a way to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
8/1/22 Dominion Energy begins operation at a 12 MW battery facility next to a solar farm in Virginia
7/30/22 Solar farm with enough power for 2,000 homes proposed for Campostella Landfill
7/22/22 Virginia: How can you save on residential solar
6/27/22 Daily Press and Virginian Pilot front page: As cost of installing solar panels rises, organizations work to address affordability
6/22/22 N.C. Supreme Court rules in favor of solar access, against homeowners association
6/7/22 Scientists Say They’ve Created a Roadmap for Cutting US Emissions in Half by 2030
5/25/22 Predatory residential solar installers could sow mistrust, advocates fear
5/21/22 Letter to the editor on the momentous challenge of clean energy
5/17/22 Great story on solar predators in Georgia using a hidden camera
4/21/22 Amazon announces it will build a 200 MW and a 50 MW solar farms in Virginia, bringing the total number of solar facilities the company has announced for the state to 19
4/20/22 Solar farms popping up throughout area
4/4/22 IPCC released the 3rd part of their Climate Change report; Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed
3/29/22 Sierra Club Virginia Supports Dominion Offshore Wind Project with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Goals
3/28/22 A Virginia city launches the state’s first municipal utility-led solar program for ratepayers who choose to get power from a new solar farm (Daily News Record)
3/27/22 “Youngkin ignores facts to reject RGGI’s market-based solutions.” (The Virginian-Pilot)
3/22/22 A local solar fund, Norfolk Solar, that has installed $1M of solar in disadvantaged neighborhoods, was highlighted in a WTKR TV spot
3/18/22 The Climate Crisis Is Driving New Home Improvements (Science Friday)
3/17/22 Could super-sized heat pumps make gas boilers extinct? (BBC)
3/16/22 Virginia regulators approve 15 Dominion Energy solar projects that represent nearly 1,000 MW of total power, including a 100 MW facility at Dulles Airport. (Southeast Energy News)
2/27/22 Heat Pumps for Peace and Freedom (Bill McKibben)
Future Events:
October 1-2, 2022 National Solar Tour
