Lt. Governor Hashmi Right to Oppose NextEra and Dominion Mega-Merger

Climate group commends Virginia’s Lt. Governor for taking a clear stance against creation of largest utility monopoly in the world 


RICHMOND, VA — Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi announced yesterday her opposition to NextEra’s acquisition of Dominion Energy. The announcement came after the conclusion of a five-stop listening tour during which the Lt. Governor heard Virginians’ concerns about the merger in Loudoun County, Norfolk, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Roanoke. CCAN Virginia Director joined the Lt. Governor as the energy expert on the panel in Roanoke.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission decision on the merger, which would create the largest regulated utility monopoly in the world, hinges on whether approval would impair or jeopardize “just and reasonable rates.” Recent polling shows that three in four Virginians (76%) believe the merger will increase electric bills.

Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), issued the following statement:

“We are thankful that Lieutenant Governor Hashmi took the time to hear out Virginians on this topic, and ultimately for taking a strong stance in opposition. We, too, are hearing deep concerns from people all over the state. Virginians see this for what it is: one more leg of the billionaire class’s AI arms race that is robbing everyday families of money, health, jobs, land, and water. It appears that NextEra is only here to capitalize on and accelerate data center infrastructure buildout as the rest of the country wakes up and turns them away.”

The Lt. Governor is the first statewide elected official to flatly oppose the merger. Governor Abigail Spanberger is a formal intervenor in the case before the State Corporation Commission and has expressed that she is “skeptical of the benefits this merger would deliver to Virginia.”

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Maryland PSC Approves Two Battery Storage Projects; Coalition Urges Continued Progress Toward Grid Reliability Goals

BALTIMORE, MD — The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) selected yesterday the Chalk Point Storage Project (Prince George’s County, 400 MW) and Jade Meadow III Battery Storage (Garrett County, 40 MW) under the Round 1 solicitation of the Next Generation Energy Act (NGEA). A coalition of clean energy and environmental organizations thanks the Commission for its work throughout the Case 9866 process and welcomes the approvals as a step forward for Maryland’s grid but calls on the PSC to do more.

What yesterday’s decision means:

  • Progress on reliability and affordability: The selected project(s) will add 440 MW of transmission-connected, 4-hour battery storage, helping stabilize supply and demand and insulate ratepayers from peak pricing.
  • Local benefits: The Chalk Point Storage Project and Jade Meadow III Battery Project are expected to bring construction jobs, permanent maintenance positions, and steady tax revenue to Prince George’s County and Garrett County. 
  • Next step is construction approval: The approved project(s) must still secure PSC construction approval, including additional public hearings on safety, siting, and environmental review, expected in late 2026 and into 2027.

The state’s grid — under mounting strain from PJM capacity constraints and rising demand — needs every cost-effective storage resource it can bring online. 

In response to yesterday’s decision, advocates released the following statements: 

“The proposals in this docket represent several years of state policymaking pertaining to grid reliability and a state storage program. 440 MW is a significant increase to our grid’s capacity. At a time when electricity affordability is a paramount concern for Marylanders, storage can reduce overall electricity system costs and can prevent rate increases by improving grid efficiency, maximizing low-cost renewable energy, and strengthening system reliability,” said Rebecca Rehr, Director of Climate Policy and Justice, Maryland League of Conservation Voters.

“Maryland should celebrate these first-round approvals, but we cannot stop at 440 megawatts when the state has set a 3,000-megawatt energy-storage goal by 2033 and sought 800 megawatts in this round alone,” said Brittany Baker, Maryland Director at Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “The Commission should build on this progress with an ambitious Round 2 that brings substantially more storage online, prioritizes responsible siting and community engagement, and gives Maryland households the reliable, affordable clean-energy grid they deserve.”

“While we commend the Commission approving these two projects for Energy Storage Capacity Credits, it missed a critical opportunity to deploy more clean capacity,” said Josh Tulkin, Sierra Club Maryland Chapter Director. “Maryland urgently needs to add more storage to the grid to combat rising electricity prices, improve reliability, and meet its climate targets. The approval of only two projects does not meet the urgency of this moment. The Commission should approve credits for more storage capacity in Round 2, including projects like the large, six-hour Oystercatcher project.”

As the PSC gears up for Round 2 solicitation, due to launch by January 1, 2027, advocates look forward to consideration of more energy storage projects that deliver the additional storage capacity Maryland needs to meet its reliability and climate goals.

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Maryland LCV educates and activates people to take equitable and just political actions for clean water, healthy air, and climate-resilient communities.

Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is America’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization. The Maryland Chapter has over 70,000 members and supporters, and the Sierra Club nationwide has approximately 800,000 members.

Spanberger Energy Plan Strongly Prioritizes Low-Cost Clean Energy

Modeling demonstrates urgent need to curb data center load growth


RICHMOND, VA — Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) released today her State Energy Plan, a document required by state code that must outline approaches to achieving a net-zero economy across all sectors no later than 2045. The Plan’s policy recommendations strongly depart from the gas and nuclear-heavy approach favored by former Governor Glenn Youngkin and instead principally focus on unlocking low-cost, clean energy resources that meet the Governor’s affordability goals and are aligned with state decarbonization statutes. The Plan takes seriously the potential for energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and distributed energy resources to contribute meaningfully to a sophisticated, modern grid. 

The Plan leans on existing state statute and load growth forecasts to produce resource portfolio model outputs that also make clear that the Commonwealth needs strong action to curb data center load growth. The Governor’s remarks made clear that the three “policy adjusted” scenarios are preferred by the administration and policy recommendations are in keeping with said scenarios. While not a major contributor to those preferred scenarios, gas fuel cells – modeled in the Plan principally to power data centers behind-the-meter – contribute carbon emissions to the atmosphere that accelerate climate change.

 Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), issued the following statement:

“What a difference a year makes. Governor Spanberger’s Energy Plan is a massive departure from the unserious, polluter-friendly agenda peddled by the Youngkin Administration. The Plan clearly prioritizes low-cost, clean energy resources and the development of a modern, flexible grid. It is high time we thoughtfully grapple with the short- and long-term costs of pollution to health and communities, as this Plan does. 

We further appreciate that the Plan ensures that utility incentives and compensation are aligned with performance outcomes, and renewable procurement is competitive and results in the low-cost projects we see nationwide. This is particularly important as we face the potential for the NextEra/Dominion mega-merger, a union we believe will result in higher energy costs and greater political interference. 

This Plan comes at an exceptionally challenging moment for energy affordability. The modeling output demonstrates that AI data center load growth is out of control. Virginia communities should house energy infrastructure that serves community needs, not Big Tech profits. We should not add a single Megawatt of data center demand to the Virginia energy landscape until policy protections are fully realized.”

After several months of stakeholder and community input as to problems, methodologies, and solutions the administration should prioritize, the Plan outlines five different policy scenarios and the electricity resource portfolios that could meet demand under those conditions. The low and no new gas policy scenarios represent the lowest-cost resource portfolios when the impact of air pollutants to public health and the economy is accounted for. Such costs are externalized to Virginia families through burdens such as hospital bills, crop failures, and extreme weather events, and are often unaccounted for in utility planning models that favor polluting resources. 

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.