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Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and
energy company The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy ind ...
headquartered in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
to parts of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Dominion also has generation facilities in
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, and
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
. The company acquired
Questar Corporation Questar Corporation is a company based in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It manufactures precision optical devices for consumer, industrial, aerospace, and military markets. Its telescopes produced for the consumer market are sold under the brand name "Q ...
in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, including parts of Utah and Wyoming, in September 2016. In January 2019, Dominion Energy completed its acquisition of
SCANA Corporation SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company was in disre ...
.


Overview

The company's asset portfolio includes 27,000
megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
s of power generation, of electric transmission lines, of distribution lines, of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and equivalent of natural gas and oil reserves. Dominion also operates the nation's largest natural gas storage facility, amounting to more than of storage capacity. The company's
Cove Point A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are ...
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the vol ...
(LNG) import terminal on the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
is one of the nation's largest and busiest facilities of its kind. Dominion serves more than 5 million retail energy customers in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the U.S. In 2017, Dominion was listed at #238 on the Fortune 500. A book about the company's 100-year history, ''Dominion’s First Century: A Legacy of Service'', was published in 2010.


Generation statistics

In 2015, 18 percent of Dominion's total electric production came from
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
, 22 percent from
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
, 32 percent from
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
, 9 percent from
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
, 12 percent from Hydro and other renewables, and 7 percent from other sources. A strategy is being developed for
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
sources, primarily
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
and biomass, and
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...
and efficiency programs to play an increasingly important role in meeting future energy needs and minimizing the company's environmental footprint.


History

Dominion's corporate roots reach back to the Colonial era through predecessor companies that operated canal and river barging, street lighting, railways, and electric trolleys. In 1787, the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
created the Appomattox Trustees to promote navigation along the Appomattox River. In 1795, the trustees formed the Upper Appomattox Company to build dams along the river for industrial use, beginning Dominion's history. In 1901, the water rights passed to the newly formed Virginia Passenger & Power Company. Dominion's closest direct corporate ancestor, Virginia Railway & Power Company, was founded by
Frank Jay Gould Frank Jay Gould (December 4, 1877 – April 1, 1956) was a philanthropist and the son of financier Jay Gould. He was the owner of French Riviera casinos and hotels. Biography He was born on December 4, 1877, in Manhattan, New York City to ...
on June 29, 1909. It bought Virginia Passenger & Power soon afterward. In 1925, the name was changed to the Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), a regulated
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
. In 1940, VEPCO doubled its service territory by merging with the Virginia Public Service Company. The transit operations were sold in 1944. In 1980, VEPCO began branding itself as "Virginia Power," while branding its North Carolina operations as "North Carolina Power." Three years later, VEPCO reorganized as a holding company, Dominion Resources. By 1985, Dominion split its distribution operations among three operating companies: Virginia Power, North Carolina Power, and West Virginia Power. In 1986, Dominion gained territory by expanding in
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
after purchasing the Virginia distribution territory of
Potomac Electric Power Company The Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) is an American utility company that supplies electric power to the city of Washington, D.C. and to surrounding communities in Maryland. It is owned by Exelon. The company's current trademarked slogan ...
(PEPCO). In 1987, the West Virginia Power division was later sold to
Utilicorp United Aquila, Inc. was an electricity and natural gas distribution network headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States. The company also owned and operated power generation assets. It previously operated under the name UtiliCorp Uni ...
, but Dominion retained ownership of the
Mount Storm Power Station The Mount Storm Generating Station, located on the west bank of Mount Storm Lake from Bismarck, West Virginia, United States, is a coal-fired power station owned by Dominion Resources. The facility's three units use around 15,000 tons of coal ...
in West Virginia. (In 1999, West Virginia Power would be sold to
Allegheny Energy Allegheny Energy was an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owned and operated electric generation facilities and delivered electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Allegh ...
and folded into its Monongahela Power subsidiary; it and other Allegheny Energy subsidiaries have since been acquired in 2010 by FirstEnergy.) Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dominion initiated a series of expansions into regulated and non-regulated energy businesses, both domestically and internationally. During that era, the company also established itself as a world-class operator of
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...
s. In 2000, Dominion bought
Consolidated Natural Gas Company Consolidated may refer to: *Consolidated (band) **''¡Consolidated!'', a 1989 extended play *Consolidated Aircraft (later Convair), an aircraft manufacturer *Consolidated city-county *Consolidated Communications * Consolidated school district *Con ...
(CNG) of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, and added natural gas service to its energy delivery network in the energy-intensive markets in the Northeastern quadrant of the U.S. In 2001, Dominion bought Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Company, adding to its natural gas delivery network. Dominion re-branded all of its operations in 2000 to Dominion from Virginia and North Carolina Power as well as Consolidated Gas in order to create a more unified energy company. In 2007, as part of another effort to refocus on core electric and gas operations, Dominion sold most of its
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
-based natural gas and oil exploration and production business for pre-tax proceeds of nearly $14 billion. Its onshore US oil and gas reserves were sold in separate deals to
Loews Corporation Loews Corporation is an American conglomerate headquartered in New York City. The company's majority-stake holdings include CNA Financial Corporation, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, Loews Hotels and Altium Packaging. ...
and to
XTO Energy XTO Energy Inc. is an American energy company and subsidiary of ExxonMobil principally operating in North America. Acquired by ExxonMobil in 2010 and based out of Spring, Texas, it is involved with the production, processing, transportation, an ...
, while its
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
reserves were sold to Eni, and its Canadian reserves were sold to two Canadian trusts. Dominion still retains some production areas in Appalachia, however. In February 2016, Dominion Resources announced that they would be acquiring
Questar Corporation Questar Corporation is a company based in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It manufactures precision optical devices for consumer, industrial, aerospace, and military markets. Its telescopes produced for the consumer market are sold under the brand name "Q ...
. The acquisition was completed in September 2016. In 2017, Dominion Resources rebranded itself to Dominion Energy, following with a new logo. In January 2018,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
reported that Dominion Energy would be buying
SCANA Corporation SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company was in disre ...
for $7.9 billion.; the acquisition was completed in January 2019. In the summer of 2018, Dominion Energy launched a "grid transformation program." The program's aim was to build 3,000 megawatts worth of new solar and wind energy by the year 2022. The program was launched under the authority of the Grid Transformation & Security Act, a state law signed by Virginia Governor
Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
. "The law paves the way for expanded investments in
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
, smart grid technology, a stronger, more secure grid and energy efficiency programs . . ." In July 2020, Dominion announced plants to sell natural gas transmission and storage assets to
Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiu ...
; the size of the deal is estimated at $10 billion.


Operations

Dominion has three operating businesses:


Dominion Generation

Dominion generates electricity for both regulated sale in its Virginia and North Carolina markets, and also for wholesale in other markets in the Northeast and Midwest United States. Electricity generation is the largest unit of Dominion.


Dominion Virginia and North Carolina Power

Dominion is a regulated electric utility that transmits, and distributes electricity from its power plants in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, North Carolina, Connecticut, and West Virginia to customers.


Dominion Energy

:*Natural gas distribution :*Natural gas transmission and storage :*Producer services :*Solar Funding - Tredegar Solar Fund I, LLC


Dominion Exploration and Production

Dominion Exploration and Production was the
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
and
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
exploration and production subsidiary of Dominion, and by 2007 was one of the largest independent natural gas and oil operators. During 2007, Dominion sold the majority of its oil and natural gas exploration and production assets to put additional focus on growing its electric generation and energy distribution, transmission, storage and retail businesses mainly in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.


Expansion plans

Dominion was a partner in a joint venture that planned to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline to run between West Virginia and North Carolina. Though the project had faced stiff opposition from environmental and community heritage groups along its route, ground was broken on the pipeline in Lewis County, West Virginia, in May 2018. Dominion and Duke Energy canceled the pipeline in July 2020, citing cost increases due to lawsuits, largely from environmental groups opposed to the project.


Political activities

The Dominion Political Action Committee (PAC) has been very active in donating to Virginia candidates. In 2009, the Dominion PAC donated a total of $814,885 with 56% going to Republicans and 41% to Democrats. In 2008, the PAC donated $539,038 with 50% going to Republicans and 47% to Democrats. In the 2016 election cycle, the PAC contributed $1,276,016.17 to various political candidates and committees. Lobbyists for Dominion worked to pass West Virginia's Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, a 2021 law creating
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
penalties for protests targeting oil and gas facilities, which was described by its sponsor John Kelly as having been "requested by the natural gas industry".


Charitable contributions

Dominion's social investment program is carried out primarily through the Dominion Foundation, which gives about $20 million each year to charities in the states in which Dominion does business. Dominion also has the Benjamin J. Lambert, III, Volunteer of the Year Program. 2017 was the thirty-third year of the program recognizing top company volunteers. Dominion honors the volunteers by paying $1000 to the charity of the individual's choice. In 2016, twelve employees from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia were selected. In 2020, Dominion responded to the coronavirus pandemic by stopping service disconnects for non-payment and helping customers who had been disconnected for not making payments to reconnect to its service. It is also waiving late and reconnection fees. The company has also directed its charitable foundation to provide $1 million in aid to help individuals and organizations fighting COVID-19. The $1 million will be offered to national groups like the American Red Cross and local organizations the company identifies.


Controversies


High voltage lines

A number of controversies have surrounded the company's decisions to develop new routes for its electric power transmission lines. On February 13, 2007, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that the power company was planning to change the route of one 500 kV transmission line to appease critics in
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
from a route that would cut through protected
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and
farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...
land to a southern route that would bypass nature preserves and
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
sites by running adjacent to existing power lines. However, U.S. Congressional Representative Frank Wolf ( R - VA) and Governor
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
( D) remained opposed to the line, saying that there was no real need, and that Dominion was trying to bring cheap electricity from the Midwest. Dominion contested, saying that the line would bring needed electricity to growing
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
. The proposal was accepted by the State Corporation Commission (SCC) on October 7, 2008. On February 15, 2008, the SCC approved a controversial proposal for a 230 kV Dominion Virginia transmission line that would travel above ground for along a
wooded A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
portion of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail between Leesburg and Clarks Gap in
Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...
, which Dominion again claimed was necessary for power reliability. Less than three weeks later, on March 4 and March 5, 2008, the Senate and the House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly
unanimously Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...
passed emergency legislation that ordered the SCC to approve the underground construction of the line along that section of the trail as part of a four-part statewide
pilot program A pilot study, pilot project, pilot test, or pilot experiment is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research pr ...
for the development of underground transmission lines. Sponsored by Delegate
Joe T. May Joe Turner May (born June 8, 1937) is an American businessman, electrical engineer, inventor, aviator, and politician. Biography Born on June 8, 1937 in Broadway, Virginia, May graduated from Virginia Tech in 1959. Between 1955–1958, he se ...
( R -
Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...
), the legislation exempted the project from any requirements for further SCC analyses relating to the impacts of the route, including environmental impacts and impacts upon historical resources. The legislation went into effect when
Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
approved it on April 2, 2008.


Wise County power plant

The company began constructing a 605
MWe The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
fired
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...
in
Wise County, Virginia Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties and named for Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. History The Cherokee conquered the ...
in June 2008. , the construction had reached the halfway point, with the plant scheduled to be fully operational in mid-2012. Dominion calls the plant the "
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center The Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) is a power station located in St. Paul, in Wise County, Virginia. It is operated by Dominion Virginia Power, Dominion Resources Inc.'s electric distribution company in Virginia. The 600 MW plant bega ...
," which has been criticized by environmentalists as a way to make the plant sound environmentally friendly. The plant does however have the most stringent air permit for any coal fired power plant in the nation currently. The plant will burn up to 20% biomass along with coal and a small amount of waste coal known as gob. The plant's
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...
emissions are currently projected to be 5.4 million tons per year. High levels of mercury emitted from the plant, which is controlled by activated carbon injection to reduce the emissions, as well as a fly ash dump near the
Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...
(a source of drinking water) are also of concern. The plant would also continue to support
mountaintop removal Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. Thi ...
coal mining. Supporters, including Governor
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
, stated that as one of the largest importers of electricity, Virginia could become less dependent on importing electricity from other states with a new power plant. The plant brought 1000 workers to build, and will employ 130 full-time, as well as pay 4 to 7 million dollars of
tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
revenue yearly to economically depressed Wise County. In September 2008, the site was blockaded by activists from the
Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gr ...
.


Cove Point LNG import facility

In 2001 when Dominion's
Dominion Cove Point LNG Cove Point LNG Terminal is an offshore liquid natural gas shipping terminal operated by BHE GT&S, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy company. It is located near Lusby, Maryland, United States, on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and exports liqu ...
subsidiary was scheduled to reopen, many local residents were concerned about the proximity (only 3 miles) to the
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) is a nuclear power plant located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay near Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is the only nuclear power plant in the state ...
, and the damage that could be caused by an attack or an explosion at the plant. Residents thought that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not consider the risks before opening the plant. In 2005,
Washington Gas WGL Holdings, Inc., is a public utility holding company that serves more than 1 million customers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. A subsidiary of AltaGas, it provides natural gas, electricity, sustainable energy, carbon neutral ...
claimed that the
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
imported at the plant was too "hot," meaning that it contained fewer heavy
hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...
and burned hotter. Washington Gas said that the hot gas caused problems for its customers and caused many of its mains to break. Dominion denied that the imported gas was the cause of the breaks and stated that expanding the area serviced by the imported gas would not cause additional leaks in the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
suburbs.


Environmental record

In 2010, the
Political Economy Research Institute The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is an independent research unit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. According to its mission statement, it "...promotes human and ecological well-being through our original research". PERI was ...
ranked Dominion Resources 51st among corporations emitting
airborne pollutants in the United States Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, Atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter, or biotic material, biological materials into the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere, causing harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, ...
. Dominion's Toxic Score of 16,656 (pounds released x toxicity x population exposure) represents a significant improvement from both the 2008 report (Dominion ranked 27th with a Toxic Score of 58,642) and the 2005 report (Dominion ranked 19th with a Toxic Score of 117,712) In December 2007, a settlement between the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
(EPA) and Dominion Energy of Brayton Point called for the company's power generating plant to install new closed cycle cooling towers that provided significant protection to aquatic organisms in
Mount Hope Bay Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary located at the mouth of the Taunton River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is ...
, which flows into
Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...
. The 2007 settlement resolved an ongoing dispute that began in 2003. The EPA issued a final discharge permit called a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for the Brayton Point Power Station requiring significant reductions in thermal discharges to, and water intake from,
Mount Hope Bay Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary located at the mouth of the Taunton River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is ...
. In 2002, Dominion was responsible for 1,110,703 pounds of
gastrointestinal The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...
or liver toxicant emissions, 1,440,000 pounds of
musculoskeletal The human musculoskeletal system (also known as the human locomotor system, and previously the activity system) is an organ system that gives humans the ability to move using their muscular and skeletal systems. The musculoskeletal system prov ...
toxicant emissions, and 1,489,763 pounds of suspected respiratory toxicant emissions, and 1,478,383 pounds of suspected skin or
sense organ A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...
toxicant emissions among other emissions that are suspected to be hazardous.Environmental Releases for DOMINION RESOURCES INC. YORKTOWN POWER STATIONArchived
At July 4 2013 on the Wayback Machine


See also

* Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind


References


External links


Official site
{{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies in the Dow Jones Utility Average Electric power companies of the United States Companies based in Richmond, Virginia Companies established in 1983 Natural gas companies of the United States Nuclear power companies of the United States Hydroelectric power companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Cleveland 1983 establishments in Virginia