Dominion Energy is a
regulated monopoly
that makes a good profit
on every dollar they spend.
A lot more spending
is mandated by Virginia’s
new net zero carbon law.
Approval of a Dominion
plan is ahead.
The plan is an invitation
to propose specific projects.
No engineering
has been done yet.
Dominion’s
15 year plan
calls for ongoing
rate increases
of about 3% per year
for the next 10 years -
-- roughly +40%
over the next decade.
The Virginia Legislature
ordered Dominion Energy
to spend billions of dollars
for adding a huge collection
of expensive, intermittent
wind and solar farms.
A 40% rate hike
over the next decade
is just the beginning
of expensive electricity
in Dominion’s Virginia.
The 15-year plan does not
come close to meeting the 2045
net zero carbon requirements.
The renewables build plan
includes over 5,000 MW
of offshore wind generation.
That would cost $5 billion
on land -- much more
when built off shore.
Offshore wind facilities
will have to face relatively
frequent hurricanes
and tropical storms.
This vulnerability
may require a stronger
than usual design
for both the towers
and their foundations
Add a huge 16,000 MW
of new solar generation.
The typical utility scale
solar project is just
a few hundred MW.
There is also 2,700 MW
(discharge rate) of storage,
probably billions of dollars
worth of batteries.
Together these three items
add up to about 24,000 MW,
roughly equal to Dominion’s
total existing generating capacity,
a lot of which will be shut down.
Intermittent wind and solar
requires an enormous amount
of reliable backup capacity,
especially for periods of hot
weather with low wind speeds.
The Bermuda high is a
massive high pressure system
that causes summer heat waves.
In Virginia this often means
temperatures near 100 F.
for a week at a time, which causes
the maximum use of electricity
the state will see.
A big feature of this
stagnant high is that
there is is no useful
wind power.
Wind generators need sustained
winds of 25-30 mph to generate
full power.
With winds less than 8-10 mph
they generate nothing and this
is what you get during
a Bermuda high.
At today’s prices batteries
are far too expensive
to do this backup job.
The biggest battery backup
sites in the world only provide
about 20 minutes of backup,
not 16 hours a day for solar,
or a week’s worth for wind.