Dominion rebuffs efforts to kill its offshore wind project

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WIND

• Dominion Energy executives say they expect the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to be completed and operational next year, despite efforts by the Trump administration to halt wind energy projects. (E&E News, subscription)

• A conservative think tank that has opposed offshore wind declines to join an effort to shut down the Dominion project, noting that doing so would leave ratepayers with more than $6 billion in stranded costs. (Bacon’s Rebellion)

GRID

• Dominion says contracted power capacity from data centers nearly doubled in the last half of 2024, increasing to 40.2 GW in December. (Bloomberg)

• South Carolina lawmakers advance a bill that would impose timelines on permitting processes for new power plants, among other measures aimed at responding to anticipated increases in demand. (The State)

NUCLEAR

• Georgia Power’s new integrated resource plan calls for upgrades to the Vogtle and Hatch nuclear plants to increase output. (Nuclear Engineering)

• The Tennessee Valley Authority signs a cooperative agreement with a company seeking to develop a prototype nuclear fusion reactor at a closed coal plant. (Knoxville News Sentinel) 

• Florida Power & Light is unlikely to meet a ten-year deadline to address a groundwater contamination threat caused by cooling tunnels under the Turkey Point nuclear plant. (Miami Herald)

UTILITIES

South Carolina utility Santee Cooper proposes a settlement that would let it recover $550 million in unexpected costs incurred during a five-year rate freeze imposed after a failed nuclear plant expansion. (Post and Courier)

GEOTHERMAL

Texas could further expand clean energy under the Trump administration as oil companies become increasingly interested in geothermal power. (Fast Company)

FOSSIL FUELS

A Kentucky lawmaker seeking to weaken state oversight of water pollution says he is working to ​“do everything that I possibly can to burn coal for as long as possible.” (Kentucky Public Radio)

OVERSIGHT

• Texas fossil fuel and business groups petition the U.S. EPA to grant the state primacy over federal agencies in permitting and regulating carbon storage projects. (Reuters)

• Federal regulators seek a $2.4 million fine against an ExxonMobil subsidiary for harassing inspectors sent to examine a carbon dioxide pipeline in Mississippi. (Louisiana Illuminator)

TECHNOLOGY

North Carolina withdraws incentives for a California cleantech company that has struggled to build out a new headquarters in Durham. (Raleigh News & Observer)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

South Carolina lawmakers pause debate on a bill that would allow electric vehicle manufacturers to sell directly to consumers and bypass dealerships. (The State)