News Roundup: What Dominion’s Ratepayer Refund Really Means, Offshore Wind in Virginia, Using Geothermal Systems for Heating and Cooling

Dominion Will Give Customers A Refund This Summer, Then Bills Will Go Up

Dominion customers can expect an average refund of $24.66 on their monthly electricity bills this summer. At the same time, due to a number of increasing costs, consumers also can expect their bill to go up an average of $4.59 per month. This means that refund will be used up in six months’ time. The new Grid Modernization and Security Act complicates the future of rates even further. The final bill does not contain the controversial “double-dip” provision, but the bill still permits Dominion to pass on certain costs to the consumer. At this point, those costs are unknown. Read the story here.

Does Virginia Have The Pieces In Place For An Offshore Wind Boom?

Many agree that Virginia has the potential to develop a robust offshore wind industry, but the Commonwealth lags far behind other states in developing these types of projects. Despite that, groups like the Sierra Club are optimistic that Virginia is on the cusp of beginning to develop this resource in a significant way. For example, Dominion Energy is in the process of developing a 12-megawatt offshore project that is set to come online in 2020. It also has leased 112,800 acres, which has the potential to hold a massive wind energy project in the coming years, off the coast of Virginia. Read the story here.

Virginia Has A Massive Energy Source Sitting Just Offshore

In an effort to have a better understanding of the value of offshore wind, the Berkeley Lab created a report that attempts to quantify what the value of offshore wind would have been had it been built on the East Coast of the United States from 2007 to 2016. This study took into consideration renewable energy credit prices, weather, wholesale electricity market outcomes, and capacity, among other factors, when calculating the market value. Unsurprisingly, the Northeast had top marks, with values averaging about $100/MWh. Virginia did not lag far behind that. To find out more about the report and calculations for Virginia, read the story here.

Alphabet Spinoff Wants To Turn Your Lawn Into Your Air Conditioner

Dandelion, an invention of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is offering a new way to heat and cool homes. The Dandelion Air geothermal system will use the ground’s energy to maintain a consistent building temperature. In the winter, it moves heat from the ground into the house, and in the summer, it moves heat from the house into the ground. The company claims that the system is four times more efficient than furnaces and twice as efficient as traditional air conditioning systems. The installation costs are high, but consumers could expect significant savings over time. Read the story here.