Wind Power News: Virginia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Dem senator purchased luxury condo from green energy lawyer pushing wind farm in home state
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia recently purchased a luxury waterfront condominium from a senior lawyer at Dominion Energy, a multibillion-dollar energy company developing a massive offshore wind farm in his home state. According to his 2022 financial disclosures filed this month, Kaine reported purchasing a residential property worth up to $1 million in March 2022. A Fox News Digital review of local real estate filings showed that Kaine and his wife Anne Holton paid $895,000 for a multi-unit condominium . . . Complete story »
Wind energy developer funneled cash to Dem senator pushing offshore wind
A multibillion-dollar energy developer has wired tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s campaign in recent years while aggressively pushing a massive offshore wind project. The Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Energy’s political action committee (PAC) has funneled $23,000 to Kaine for Virginia since 2011, with the latest, a $1,500 contribution, coming in February. In that same time span, Dominion Energy has given another $44,500 to Common Ground PAC, the leadership PAC affiliated with and chaired by Kaine. . . . Complete story »
Pentagon sounds alarm over Biden plan for offshore wind sites
The Pentagon is sounding alarms over Biden administration plans to advance offshore wind projects along the central Atlantic US coast, warning that almost all of the new terrain eyed for development conflicts with military operations. Maps shared with industry stakeholders and seen by Bloomberg News show vast red areas that the Navy and Air Force have deemed “highly problematic,” covering prime real estate the Interior Department last year earmarked for leasing off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and . . . Complete story »
Endangered right whale washes ashore in Virginia Beach
There’s another beached whale mystery on the bay side of Virginia Beach. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it’s the third of its kind in a week. We put up Drone 10 to video the animal lying on the beach between the Lesner Bridge and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The North Atlantic right whale that has been identified is a 20-year-old, 43-foot male, and it can weigh up to 70 tons. The beached right whale became a classroom . . . Complete story »
Third dead whale found miles from offshore wind farm in less than a week
The third dead whale was discovered in less than a week off the southeastern coast of Virginia, miles from Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), one of two operational wind farms in federal waters. Over the weekend, a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale was discovered washed ashore near Chic’s Beach which is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday. According to local news outlets, there was no immediate . . . Complete story »
Regulators grant critical approval for Dominion wind farm
“The magnitude of this project is so great that it will likely be the costliest project being undertaken by any regulated utility in the United States. And the electricity produced by this Project will be among the most expensive sources of power — on both a per kilowatt of firm capacity and a per megawatt-hour basis — in the entire United States,” the order said. Complete story »
Proposed wind farm in Botetourt County gets new state approval
Slowed for nearly seven years by lawsuits, design changes, the pandemic and a lengthy search for a buyer of the renewable energy it will produce, a mountaintop wind farm in Botetourt County continues to inch forward. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recently reaffirmed its approval for the Rocky Forge Wind project, which will entail building 13 turbines, each one 634 feet tall, along a ridgeline of North Mountain. Apex Clean Energy, a Charlottesville-based company that first proposed the wind . . . Complete story »
Youngkin plan calls for reevaluating major clean energy law
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Monday for expanding nuclear power generation in Virginia, reevaluating a recent clean energy law celebrated by environmentalists, and restoring greater authority to state regulators who oversee the state’s powerful utilities. His administration laid out those and other goals in a 29-page state energy plan unveiled Monday morning before a crowd of elected officials and hard-hat-wearing workers at a power transformer manufacturing company in Lynchburg. The energy plan, an exercise required by state . . . Complete story »
Dominion may end $10b offshore wind project over performance clause
The SCC will allow Dominion to bill the cost of CVOW's development to household ratepayers in the form of a minuscule rider fee - but only if its turbines perform at a 42 percent capacity factor or better in any three-year period. Any shortfalls would be Dominion's to cover. Complete story »
SCC to hear more arguments on wind farm ratepayer protection
A range of groups, from the Sierra Club to Walmart, have participated in the regulatory proceedings. Wednesday’s commission order directs all participants who object to Dominion’s petition to file a response by Sept. 13. Dominion must then respond to those arguments by Sept. 22, the order said. Complete story »
