It is Time to End Northern Virginia’s Outdated and Unnecessary Vehicle Emissions Program
Since 1982, residents of these Northern Virginia counties: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park, have been subject to a mandatory vehicle emissions testing program, a policy enacted in 1982 under the 1970 Clean Air Act to combat significant regional air pollution. While Virginians outside of Northern […]
Poor Solar Energy Performance is More Evidence the VCEA is Failing
Every solar facility in Dominion Energy Virginia’s expanding fleet of silicone panels is failing to perform up to its initial energy promises, according to a State Corporation Commission staff analysis. In many cases the shortfalls are dramatic. A high confidence in the ability of solar power to replace Virginia’s dominant natural gas and coal electricity generators […]
Fate of Dominion Gas Plant Depends On Which Experts, Models the SCC Believes
The State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) decision on whether Dominion Energy can build a new natural gas-fired power plant will depend on which expert or set of experts it believes, and which of the many computer models that dominate the testimony it judges best predict Virginia’s energy future. Dominion has filed testimony to the SCC from […]
Dominion’s Gas-Dependent Energy Plan Neither Endorsed nor Rejected by SCC
The State Corporation Commission has judged Dominion Energy Virginia’s latest integrated resource plan (IRP) – the one with controversial proposals for additional use of natural gas— to be merely “legally sufficient.” In its final order issued July 15, the commission applied the term “reasonable” to only a few elements of Dominion’s 15-year roadmap on how it would meet the […]
This Week Proves Again Wind and Solar Cannot Take the Heat
Once again, a spell of hot weather has proven that our economy and comfort depend on hydrocarbon fuels. As you can see from these simple pie graphs from the PJM regional energy market, two-thirds of the electricity sustaining Virginia on a recent hot afternoon was produced by natural gas, oil and coal. One graph shows […]
Energy Policy: The Biggest Problem Facing Virginia’s Next Governor
When the smoke clears on the November elections and Virginia has a new governor and a different House of Delegates, energy policy will still head the list of crucial issues. It is in the state’s best interest to highlight those issues during what’s left of the campaign season and force candidates to state their intentions. Virginia […]
Legislature Warned Again of Electricity Shortage
Here we go again. As the 2025 election year heats up and warnings rise about electricity shortfalls this summer, the legislators behind Virginia’s coming ban on hydrocarbon electricity are pretending they see the problem. A May 22 headline out of a recent legislative meeting on energy claimed that “Democratic leadership signals willingness to reexamine Virginia Clean Economy Act.” The […]
Lawsuit Challenges the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Over Regulation of Small Reactors
Virginia is not directly involved, but with our nuclear industrial base, a pending federal lawsuit over the authority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is crucial for our energy future. At the end of last year, Texas and Utah and small nuclear startup LAST Energy filed a claim in the Eastern District of Texas that the NRC is unlawfully impeding progress in the […]
‘Green’ Energy Mandates, Profit Demands Drive Dominion Price Hikes, Not Data Centers
The pending price increase for electricity from Dominion Energy Virginia is higher than the 14% jump reported by the news media which basically parroted company releases. Should all of Dominion’s rate applications at the State Corporation Commission be approved, residents and businesses will pay about 20% more. The 1,000-kilowatt hour monthly bill used for illustration (smaller than many households […]
Youngkin Vetoes Many Bad Energy Bills, Uses Substitutes to Flip Others to Good Bills
Wielding irony like a razor-sharp butcher’s knife, Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) has proposed a series of amendments on bills intended to promote renewable energy that basically reverse the impact and do just the opposite. One amendment would even repeal the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), which is central to Virginia Democratic climate politics and future […]