A loose coalition of offshore wind opponents is forming from North Carolina to New England to the Great Lakes to question or challenge the expanding list of proposed projects. The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy has affiliated with the coalition, with our concerns over Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed 5,280 megawatt project basically being economic. Massive worldwide economic forces are behind this push, most of them positioning the company to earn substantial profits from energy ratepayers. The Virginia State Corporation Commission, basically under orders from the General Assembly to approve the offshore wind proposed by Dominion, has estimated the all-in consumer cost of the Dominion project at more than $37 billion. It accounts for about a third of the $807 annual increase in residential electric bills the SCC has projected by 2030, with the power provided dependent on unreliable wind. >click to read< 11:55
Tag Archives: Virginia State Corporation Commission
A seismic shock – Dominion May End $10B Offshore Wind Project Over Performance Clause
The giant utility Dominion Energy has found itself in a disagreement with state regulators over a proposed performance guarantee for its $10 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, one of the largest planned wind farms in the U.S. development pipeline. The clause is enough of a concern for Dominion that it has threatened to scuttle CVOW altogether and walk away, a seismic shock for the budding U.S. offshore wind industry. However, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, a regulator with a broad mandate governing insurance, railroads and utilities, has made a decision that may make CVOW untenable, according to Dominion. The SCC will allow Dominion to bill the cost of CVOW’s development to household ratepayers in the form of a miniscule 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. >click to read< 07:32
