Dominion Files IRP Increasing Reliance on Fracked Gas

RICHMOND, VA - Today, Dominion Energy filed its Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) with Virginia’s State Corporation Commission. The IRP is a sweeping projection of future energy demand and how the utility plans to meet the commonwealth’s energy needs.  

The IRP lays out four plans that each call for increased reliance on short-term fracked gas infrastructure, which will force consumers to pay for gas plants that will soon be outdated due to the 100% carbon-free by 2045 standard established in the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). Dominion’s preferred plan would even keep existing gas plants in operation indefinitely, on the assumption that they can be made carbon-neutral or that their emissions can be offset by negative emissions elsewhere. 

Each of the four plans included in Dominion’s IRP account for the 2025 retirement of the Clover coal plant. Coal is an extremely toxic, expensive, and outdated energy source and it is critical that Dominion offer coal plant workers and consumers certainty by announcing the 2025 retirement date. However, Dominion’s overall IRP shows that the utility needs to do more to meet the needs and opportunities of Virginia’s clean energy future. 

Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Director Kate Addleson released the following statement:

“Communities across the Commonwealth are demanding a shift from expensive fossil fuels to affordable clean energy to create jobs and stop polluting our air, water, and climate. Continued reliance on fracked gas to meet electric demand is extremely uneconomical and comes at a real cost to ratepayers and our ability to advance climate solutions. Dirty fossil fuels have no place in Virginia's clean energy future, especially given that clean, renewable energy resources are incredibly affordable and abundant.”