Virginia’s state government will get 45 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2022, officials announced Friday morning, exceeding a target established by Gov. Ralph Northam in a recent executive order committing the state to making its electric grid carbon free by 2050.Both Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest electric...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday ordered that all work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline stop except stabilization and restoration activities.The order, outlined in a Tuesday letter from FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, follows on the heels of a federal appeals court ruling Friday that pressed pause on...
The fall foliage may be dull, but parts of the James River are slightly brighter this October thanks to the “flash drought” that has gripped much of the Southeast for the past month.East of Hopewell, the largest blooms of algae detected in the James in several years are spreading...
The emerald ash borer looks like nothing so much as an Elvis impersonator in insect form.When hit with light, its green and gold body sparkles as if the bug is wearing a sequined jumpsuit; its eyes, glistening protuberances that consume most of its head, command attention. Both the insect...
Virginia and Mountain Valley Pipeline have resolved a lawsuit brought by the state against the company for environmental violations that caused significant erosion in the southwestern part of the commonwealth, with the natural gas pipeline developer agreeing to pay a $2.15 million civil penalty.The payment was described by Virginia...
There’s bad news for Virginians looking to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels: The job just got 2% harder.That’s the percentage increase in electricity use in Virginia over the past year, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). The increase was driven by the continuation of...
For years, the chirping of the spring peeper frogs was one of Valerie Lowry’s signals that the maple sugar season was coming to an end. Twice the frogs would emerge, filling the Highland County air with their familiar call, and twice they would quiet. On their third appearance, Lowry...
By Mary Finley-BrookI filed a records request with the State Corporation Commission to find out who owns the 1,600 megawatt Chickahominy Power Station under permitting in the majority-minority county of Charles City.As a consumer on the PJM Interconnection electricity grid, I will help pay for this $1.6 billion...
The U.S. Supreme Court announced this morning that it will review a decision by a federal court of appeals that threw up a major barrier to construction of a 600-mile natural gas pipeline being developed by Dominion Energy.The order by the court consolidates two cases brought by environmental groups...
Eighteen Virginia counties are under burn bans before the typical fall wildfire season due to unusually dry weather that has gripped the state over the past month.“This is the driest fall we’ve had in well over 10 years,” said Michelle Stoll, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Forestry.The...
