Dominion Energy Shuts Down Pumping Station

Nov. 22—BLUEFIELD, Va. — Development of a proposed $2 billion project that would have created pump storage power plants in Tazewell County that could have created 2,000 construction jobs, 50 permanent jobs and millions of tax dollars is being suspended. revenues for Tazewell County and other parts of southwest Virginia.

Dominion Energy announced that the company will not proceed with construction of a pumped hydroelectric dam on East River Mountain near Bluefield, Virginia.

“We have decided to cease development activities associated with the Tazewell Pumped Storage Generating Station in Tazewell County for a number of reasons, such as the impact on cost to our customers, the expiration of FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) permitting and the availability of additional affordable generation options for larger electricity generation. capacity for our customers,” Jeremy L. Slayton of Dominion Energy’s media relations department said Thursday.

Dominion bought the land in 2009 for the possibility of developing it for a wind farm atop East River Mountain, west of Bluefield, Virginia. The county later passed a high-rise ordinance on ridge lines to try to prevent this, but the idea has resurfaced. in 2015, causing resistance from local residents.

Pumped storage is a renewable energy source and operates by having an upper and lower reservoir with a difference of at least 1,000 feet between them. Electricity is produced by releasing water from the upper reservoir, passing through tunnels and using the force of the falling water to spin turbines in the lower reservoir.

This water is then pumped back to the upper reservoir. Electricity can be generated in a short period of time and then ready for use during peak periods wherever it is needed.

Slayton said Dominion Energy will focus in the coming months on completing its development activities on the East River Mountain site and will work with federal and state authorities and local landowners.

“We retain ownership of the 2,600 acres and have not made any decisions regarding their future use,” Slayton said. “We value and look forward to continuing our relationship with Tazewell County and the surrounding Southwest Virginia region.”

Slayton was asked if wind turbines might be part of any future plans.

“I’m not going to speculate on what we might consider for this site, but I can tell you that we will retain ownership of this land and have not made any decisions regarding its future use,” he said.

Slayton said Dominion Energy has submitted its annual integrated resource plan, which is a long-term planning document to meet future demand that represents a snapshot in time based on currently available technologies. The plan offers several options to meet the growing demand for electricity from Dominion customers. Slayton added that the integrated resource plan is not an application for creating any specific project.

“Our long-term plans include a variety of options to meet our growing demand, each with increased capacity from each source,” Slayton said.

No single power source can do the job, so multiple sources are needed, Slayton said. About 80% of the new electricity in Dominion Energy’s plan is carbon-neutral and includes the following sources: – More offshore wind power (a 130% increase over the company’s current fleet) – More solar power, a 150% increase over current Dominion Park.

“We currently have the second largest solar fleet in the United States at 2.7 gigawatts,” Slayton said. “This applies only to the solar power we own, not to third party power purchase agreements.”

Battery storage is another part of the plan.

“We currently have 32 megawatts of battery storage in our system, including a 20-megawatt dry bridge energy storage system,” Slayton said. “Last year, we began a 50-megawatt battery project at Dulles International Airport that, once operational, will be the largest in our fleet.”

“About 20% of the new electricity in our plan is natural gas, which is about 70% more than our current fleet,” he said. “Natural gas is critical because wind and solar don’t always produce electricity. We need reliable backup power from natural gas to keep the lights on when wind and solar are not producing electricity.”

Contact Greg Jordan at [email protected].

Contact Greg Jordan at [email protected].