ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT
Mercury reporter wins prestigious environmental reporting award
The Mercury’s Sarah Vogelsong took first-place honors in a prestigious contest that recognizes outstanding environmental journalism. Vogelsong won first-place in the “Outstanding Explanatory Reporting, Small” category in the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Awards for Reporting on the Environment contest. The winning entry was “Virginia’s Clean Energy Transition,” a five-part series on the landmark Virginia Clean […]
Regulators approve Dominion bill increase for participation in carbon trading network
Virginia utility regulators on Wednesday signed off on the costs of Dominion Energy’s first year of participation in a regional cap-and-invest program for carbon emissions from power plants, which is expected to increase the average residential customer’s monthly bill by about $2.39. But while concurring with the opinion, Judge Judith Jagdmann warned the General Assembly […]
Lawmakers ask SCC to analyze Dominion rates with an eye on refunds for customers
Eighteen Virginia legislators are asking state regulators to analyze what refunds Dominion Energy customers might receive and what electric rates would be if regulators weren’t bound by provisions in state law that are favorable to the large electric utility’s bottom line. “This is Dominion’s first rate case since 2015 and the first since the passage […]
Stop whining about solar panels — we need more now
By Bobby Whitescarver Clouds of soil stir around the hooves of our cattle as they walk through the brown, dried-up pasture. Smoke haze from the megafires out west 2,000 miles away permeates the sky. It’s just as the scientists said: The weather is getting warmer and weirder. We have a cattle farm in the Shenandoah […]
Nonprofit says federal program could be hurting endangered Atlantic sturgeon in James River
A national environmental nonprofit is threatening to sue the federal government over its failure to examine how a program that encourages the use of waterways for shipping affects endangered species, including Atlantic sturgeon in Virginia’s James River. Increased vessel traffic on major U.S. rivers and coasts resulting from the America’s Marine Highway Program run by […]
Coal fuels less and less Virginia electricity. But when should utilities pull the plug on plants?
When Dominion Energy broke ground in 2008 on the largely coal-fired Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, then-Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling called it “the largest economic development project in the history of Southwest Virginia.” Today, the facility, the last coal plant to be built in Virginia, remains a local economic force, tipping more than $8.9 million […]
Infrastructure investments can help the environment, improve health and create jobs
By Peggy Sanner The August special legislative session brings Virginia the greatest opportunity in years to invest in infrastructure that will restore the environment, improve public health and create green jobs. Legislators will determine how Virginia will use approximately $4.3 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan. Conservation groups across the commonwealth urge […]
Pipeline’s carbon offsets don’t come close to adding up
By William Limpert The Mountain Valley Pipeline continues to try to divert attention from the destructive effects of its project. In a July 12 news release, MVP announced that it would purchase more than $150 million in carbon offsets to make MVP operational emissions carbon neutral for the first 10 years of operation through a […]
Federal review recommends leaving cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline pipe, felled trees in place
A federal review of a plan to restore land disturbed by construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline prior to its cancellation in July 2020 recommends that some 31 miles of installed pipeline and 83 miles of trees felled for the project be left in place to minimize further disturbance to wildlife and vegetation. “Overall, we […]
Mosquitoes are adept at adaptation. Va. Tech scientists want to know how they do it.
Wherever you go in Virginia in summertime, there they are. Mosquitoes are the nearly constant companion of every Virginian from late spring into the fall, breeding in pools of water and lying in wait for any chance at human blood. And some researchers say they may soon become even more omnipresent as climate change gives […]
Canadian and western wildfires bring hazardous smoke to Virginia
Massive wildfires near the Ontario-Minnesota border as well as blazes farther west in Canada and the United States are bringing smoke throughout Virginia, causing state officials to issue a health alert Wednesday morning due to high levels of particulate matter. “It’s basically all over the state at this point,” said Virginia Department of Environmental Quality […]
Some water systems push back on treatment costs for ‘forever chemicals’ regulation
WASHINGTON — Local water utilities worried about getting hit with lawsuits and high cleanup costs are stepping up their lobbying of Congress as lawmakers move to regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water. The bill, the PFAS Action Act of 2021, has garnered bipartisan support and two Michigan lawmakers, Reps. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, and Fred Upton, a […]