Category: Energy
-
Support Governor Youngkin’s RGGI Repeal
by Colin M. Kelly I can only laugh at the headlines and statements being made by the media and climate alarmists about Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The headline “Returning Millions to Virginia” really grates: The state takes money out of the consumer’s pocket with…
-
“Strong Words” In Bills Give SCC Power On Rates
By Steve Haner One sentence, if it is the right sentence, can upset the machinations of the powerful. Two bills pending in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly contain such a sentence, and it could upset the plans of Dominion Energy Virginia. Here is the sentence at the heart of both bills: …if the (State Corporation)…
-
Wojick On Whales IV: Deaths Spiked with Surveys
By David Wojick The recent deaths of seven whales off New Jersey, mostly humpbacks, drew national media attention. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Directorate is responsible for whales. An outrageous statement by their spokesperson got me to do some research on humpback whale deaths. The results are appalling. The evidence seems clear that…
-
Is Unnamed Partner on Wind Project Driving This New Dominion Regulation Rewrite?
By Steve Haner Without fanfare and without awakening the drowsy Capitol press corps, Dominion Energy Virginia dropped in legislation last week to set up a partnership on its most massive capital investment, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Just who that partner might be, what if any benefits that provides to Dominion’s 2.6 million Virginia…
-
After Federal Threat to Gas Stoves, Virginia Republicans Try Again on Right to Gas
by Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Legislation to enshrine the right to use natural gas and propane in Virginia law, a repeat of a failed effort from 2022, cleared a House of Delegates committee Tuesday. The ultimate showdown will come not in the Republican-controlled House but…
-
Consumers Be Wary When Energy Elephants Dance
By Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. The Virginia House of Delegates is expected to vote this week to exempt certain Virginia manufacturers, which ones to be determined later, from the coming wave of energy costs created by Virginia’s rapid transition to unreliable forms of power generation.
-
McKinsey & Company Has You Covered
by James C. Sherlock Ever feel not only disconnected from, but ignored by central planners? Do you run a shoe store in Sterling or work for a hospital in Richmond? Use natural gas in your home or work? Teach in a public school in Wise County? Drive a gas-or diesel-powered vehicle? In other words, do…
-
Dominion Wants To Rewrite Its Own Rules Again
by Steve Haner First published today by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. The headlines in the coming General Assembly may be captured by fights over abortion and taxes, but the deepest reach into your pockets will involve your energy bills. The state’s dominant electric utility appears to once again be seeking to amend…
-
You’ll Have to Pry My Steering Wheel from My Cold, Dead Fingers
The latest from the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy…. I don’t have any philosophical objections to electric vehicles. If they offer better performance for the price than combustion-powered cars, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one. I do have public-policy reservations about government subsidies for EVs and EV infrastructure, and I do have concerns about…
-
The Big Christmas Chill Was a Wakeup Call
by Bill O’Keefe As temperatures dropped dramatically over the Christmas weekend, Dominion Energy’s advice to its customers — those who still had power — was to turn down their thermostats. Virginia was not alone. PJM, the regional grid management organization covering 13 states and the District of Columbia, made the same request because its gas…
-
Offshore Wind Turbines in International Waters Raise Big Defense Issues
By James C. Sherlock The Department of the Interior (DOI) is unlikely to be expert in the diplomatic issues and defense vulnerabilities inherent in building wind turbine farms in international waters. The DOI is, however, greatly concerned with “viewscape” – whether the turbine blades can be seen from shore. By the wealthy who live there…
-
After Arctic Blast, Do We Still Want to Californicate Our Grid?
by Scott Dreyer An old saying goes, “You don’t miss the water till the well runs dry.” In modern days that might be, “You don’t miss the electricity till you lose the lights. And heat. And hot water. And wifi. And TV. And microwave. And phone charger. And electric blanket, and The Roanoke Star….” Around…
-
Dominion’s Planned Offshore Wind Farm Need Not – and Must Not – Be Built Where Planned
by James C. Sherlock I am referring in the title, of course, to Dominion Power’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project to be located in the hatched area below. It is planned for one of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offshore wind farm lease areas. Lease areas…
-
Offshore Wind Turbines and Submarine Warfare
by James C. Sherlock Upon investigation of open source literature, I find that offshore wind turbines are less noisy than I imagined. But they present obstacles nonetheless, both physically and acoustically. United States submarine and anti-submarine efforts, operationally, in Navy labs, and in industry are led by some of our best and brightest. That is…
-
Dominion’s Wind Gamble Could Cost Customers
by William O’Keefe A study by the Kleiman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania concluded that reaching long-term offshore wind power targets presents serious challenges with “the most pressing being the need to build out the electric grid to reliably and economically deliver vast quantities of offshore wind power.” And that also…