Dominion Energy wasn’t looking for anything like it when NextEra Energy’s feeler about a merger landed out of the blue in November.
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Blue
“NextEra understands that this transaction should deliver demonstrable value for customers. The bill credit commitment is substantial, and it was not made lightly,” NextEra chairman and chief executive officer John Ketchum told the State Corporation Commission.
Buildings can be seen reflected in the Dominion Energy building in downtown Richmond. The size and membership of the board of directors of Dominion Energy Virginia will not change following the merger with NextEra, and CEO Bob Blue will remain its chairman while the utility’s president, Ed Baine, will remain in his post. The two firms agreed that the Virginia utility’s president must always be a Virginia resident.
Richmond Times-Dispatch special report: Data centers in Virginia
Before data centers became a central topic of Virginia's budget debate, the Richmond Times-Dispatch last year took a deep dive into the topic, resulting in a three-day series on data centers and the key issues they pose. Read it all below.
Proponents say data centers bring localities enormous revenues and opportunities. Opponents raise concerns about their big demands for power and compatibility with neighborhoods.
Data center developers are now eyeing the Richmond area. While counties welcome the sites' tax revenues, residents' concerns have prompted developers to withdraw some proposals and Henrico imposed further oversight.
These buildings that house key IT infrastructure are big, expensive and need a lot of energy but promise big revenues for localities.
The state's telecommunications infrastructure, tax breaks, workforce and officials' welcoming attitude have helped make Virginia the world's data center capital.
The 451 now running in Virginia, home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, currently use 3,583 megawatts, or enough electricity to power nearly 896,000 homes.
Virginia’s data center boom means new terms to understand. Here are some key words and phrases.
The state's data center boom is the subtext to increasingly intense politicking over longtime Virginia issues — climate change, electricity rates and the powers of local governments.
President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders removing barriers to expanding the electric grid's ability to serve data centers necessary to advance artificial intelligence and other power-hungry technologies.
Dave Ress (804) 649-6948
