News
Dominion’s Proposed Virginia Power Plant Casts Doubt on Its Commitments to Clean Energy
The company has proposed building a natural gas facility in Chesterfield, Virginia, despite laws mandating it reach zero-emissions by 2045.
By Jake Bolster
In 2020, the Virginia Assembly passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, a law that required the state’s largest utility provider, Dominion Energy, to generate all of its power using only renewable energy by 2045.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: electricity
State of Play
Electricity is a secondary energy source: it is generated through the conversion of primary energy sources such as natural gas, coal, solar, hydropower, and wind. Electricity’s versatility is not cost-free: a substantial amount of energy is lost in its generation and the cost of storage is high, compared with fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. The economics of battery technology hold the key to expanded use of renewable sources to generate electricity.