Dominion Energy Falls Into The "Dispatchable" Trap Over Data Center Power - CleanTechnica

Dominion Energy plans to build a 944-megawatt methane-fired power plant in Chesterfield, Virginia, on the site of a former coal facility, to meet the growing electricity demand driven largely by the state's booming data center industry. While methane combustion is cleaner than coal, environmental groups strongly oppose the project, citing concerns about increased air pollution and violations of Virginia’s 2020 Clean Economy Act and Environmental Justice Act. These laws aim to increase renewable energy use and reduce pollution, especially in communities of color, and to phase out fossil fuel plants by 2045 unless reliability is at risk. The controversy centers on the classification of renewables like wind and solar as non-dispatchable, meaning they cannot guarantee continuous power supply due to their intermittent nature. Dominion argues that additional dispatchable generation, such as methane plants, is necessary to maintain grid reliability. However, critics contend that relying on fossil fuel plants undermines the state’s clean energy goals and that cleaner alternatives exist. The debate highlights ongoing