FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Cassady Craighill, Clean Virginia Deputy Director
[email protected], 828-817-3328
October 28, 2022
Richmond — In response to the settlement reached between the Office of the Attorney General, Dominion Energy, Walmart, Appalachian Voices, and Sierra Club regarding consumer protection and performance measures for Dominion’s offshore wind project, Laura Gonzalez, the Energy Policy Manager for Clean Virginia, a party to the case, said:
“The settlement between Dominion Energy, the Office of the Attorney General, Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, and Walmart represents a vast improvement in consumer protection for Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion offshore wind project, thanks to steady pressure from multiple parties. Virginia energy customers and the Commonwealth’s fight to combat catastrophic climate change with clean energy will benefit from an offshore wind project with a reasonable cost cap and accountability measures to encourage strong project performance from Dominion. Absent pressure from environmental advocates, the Office of the Attorney General, regulatory staff, and Walmart, Dominion would have proceeded with one of the most expensive energy projects to date in Virginia with few consumer protections and would have faced little performance expectations to actually generate consistent clean energy.”
In earlier filings with the State Corporation Commission (SCC), Clean Virginia requested a cost cap, an independent monitor, and an evaluation of alternative ownership models and defended the regulatory agency’s decision to adopt the performance standard. The Office of the Attorney General, Walmart, and the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Appalachian Voices also supported the performance standard.
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Clean Virginia is a 501(c)4 independent advocacy organization with an associated Political Action Committee, Clean Virginia Fund. Clean Virginia works to fight corruption in Virginia politics in order to promote clean energy, a robust, competitive economy, and community control over our energy policy. We are motivated by the core belief that our democracy should serve everyday Virginians over special interests.