Data center expansion in Virginia experiments with clean energy legislation
In a move that has sparked debate among environmental groups and energy experts, Dominion Energy has won approval from state regulators to construct new fossil-fueled plants over the next 15 years. The utility claims the new gas complex is the only cost-effective solution to avoid unacceptable threats to reliability.
The first of these facilities, a 944-megawatt "peaker" complex, is set to be built in Chesterfield County, just outside Richmond. This complex would operate only when demand is at its highest.
However, the proposal has faced opposition. In recent weeks, environmental groups and experts have presented filings opposing Dominion Energy’s authorization to build the 944-megawatt peaker plant complex in Virginia. Concerns about energy policy and clean energy law compliance have been raised, but specific organization names or expert identities are not detailed in the provided search results.
The Virginia Clean Economy Act, which forces Dominion to convert to carbon-free power in the next two decades and prevents the company from building new fossil-fuel plants until it meets energy-efficiency targets, complicates the situation.
Yet, Dominion Energy's March application for the reliability center noted that the Virginia Clean Economy Act does not require regulators to take action that threatens electric service reliability or security.
The debate comes as Virginia, home to hundreds of data centers, especially outside of Washington, D.C., and along Interstate 95, experiences a surge in data center construction. Google announced plans for another data center in Virginia, and Dominion Energy expects more data centers to be built, leading to a 5% annual rise in peak electricity use over the next 15 years.
Experts suggest that power shortages can be avoided by using fully charged batteries and suspending exports to Duke Energy customers in North Carolina. However, Dominion Energy maintains that the new gas complex is necessary.
Peter Anderson, energy policy director for advocacy group Appalachian Voices, said in a statement that there is no justification for backtracking on clean energy progress and saddling communities with new polluting plants.
A "cold snap analysis" used by Dominion to show the gas complex's necessity during extreme cold weather has been deemed unpersuasive by experts. Moreover, multiple experts have rejected Dominion’s conclusions on both reliability and cost-effectiveness in their written testimony to regulators.
Ryan Deyoe, a power markets specialist at analytics firm Telos Energy, wrote on behalf of several nonprofits that all identified energy violations are resolvable without constructing the Chesterfield reliability center.
As the regulatory bodies review Dominion Energy’s proposal amid Virginia’s data center energy demands and clean energy goals, the debate continues.
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