Dominion Announces Future of Energy Production for Customers, and its Bleak

VIRGINIA -- Late yesterday afternoon, Dominion Energy released its latest integrated resource plan (IRP) outlining the utility’s projected future energy generation mix. Dominion is using the rapid growth of data centers as justification to over-rely on fossil fuel energy generation,  instead of using it as an opportunity to accelerate the booming clean energy economy, and investing in energy efficiency commitments to help lower-income customers. Put simply, Dominion’s plan irresponsibly misses the mark on the economics and the urgency of the climate crisis. But, this is only the first step in a longer process where customers will have an opportunity to voice their concerns through public hearings.

The detrimental climate and ratepayer consequences of Dominion’s proposed IRP include:

• Continued reliance on methane pollution. Every plan has at least 970MW of new fracked gas generation with a high of almost 3GW, not even accounting for the pipeline infrastructure and the harm it will cause with this growth projection.
• Heavy reliance on unproven and costly technology. Small nuclear reactors ranging from 804MW to 1,608MW are funded by ratepayer bill increases.
• Delayed retirement of an energy-inefficient and costly plant until 2045. Dominion’s own analysis continues to show that VCHEC is a burden to its customers and will continue to lose hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 10 years.
• The data center industry in Virginia achieved a peak metered load of almost 2.8 GW in 2022 and is expected to grow to 13 GW by 2038. This data center growth is driving Dominion’s reliance on fossil-fueled generation.
• Incomplete financial analysis. Failed to account for any Inflation Reduction Act “bonus tax credits” in its modeling, such as siting projects in “energy communities.”
• No new proposed coal retirements until 2040. Continued reliance on Clover, which is barely operating and has exorbitant operating costs, and was slated for retirement in 2025 in Dominion’s 2022 IRP.

In response, Mary Stuart Torbeck, State Representative of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign in Virginia released the following statement:

“IRPs are a reflection of priorities, and Dominion is signaling that they would rather prioritize dirty, expensive energy at the expense of ratepayers and climate. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has given the utility an unprecedented opportunity to maximize renewable energy production and lower energy costs for customers. Even before the passage of the IRA, renewable energy was competitive and in many places cheaper than fossil fuel energy generation. The IRP process is where commitments to shifting away from fossil fuels are most advantageous, as the utility forecasts new energy production to meet demand. Dominion must do the right thing by customers and maximize their ability to add considerable amounts of renewable energy and battery storage to the grid while also increasing their investments in energy efficiency programs.”