VIRGINIA’S CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION
A clean energy transition won’t be free. Officials hope energy efficiency can offset costs.
Much of Virginia’s planned shift to a carbon-free electric grid involves grand plans: turbines sprouting hundreds of feet tall from the ocean waves and solar panels spread across thousands of acres. But another major part of the clean energy transition Virginia and other states are looking to make is often overlooked: energy efficiency. Unlike wind, […]
Energy storage is the ‘Swiss army knife’ of the renewables transition, but it’s still evolving
Hang around any debate about clean energy and you’re bound to hear one question: What do you do when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing? The answer, at least in theory, is straightforward: energy storage. Storage can be thought of as the third leg of the stool Virginia will use to reach […]
Long-sought changes to rooftop solar laws offer a new vision of Virginia’s electric grid
A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage — and a solar panel for every roof? For many years, that notion would have been unthinkable in Virginia, where fairly competitive electric rates, a lack of incentives and what one solar developer described as “extreme utility control of the legislature” made most companies think […]
As solar farms multiply across Virginia, officials reckon with land use challenges
Once upon a time, Virginia saw Halifax County as a golden place. Just above the North Carolina border, in the heart of Southside Virginia, Halifax’s sunshine and abundant lands yielded some of the country’s largest crops of brightleaf tobacco. Mild and fragrant, the yellow-leaved variety sometimes known as “golden tobacco” sparked awe among visitors to […]
With offshore wind, Virginia hopes a 21st-century manufacturing boom will offset a hefty price tag
Maybe, if you squint really hard and the skies are clear, you might be able to convince yourself that you see them, out on the horizon: two turbines spinning far offshore of Virginia Beach. You can’t, of course — the distance to the Dominion Energy-owned offshore wind outpost is too great. Bill Murray, a senior […]
Virginia’s Clean Energy Transition: A special series by the Virginia Mercury
The 2020 General Assembly session will be remembered as a sea change in Virginia’s approach to not only energy, but climate change. From a fossil-fuel friendly state with only a small renewables presence, Virginia went to one with a mandatory schedule for phasing out fossil fuels by 2050, participation in a regional carbon market and […]