The Virginian-Pilot
by Barry DuVal

AS THE VIRGINIA Chamber of Commerce updates its long-term jobs plan, Blueprint Virginia, this year, our officials have traveled the state asking business leaders about their priorities. We have polled more than 2,000 business leaders across Virginia so far, and their top three energy priorities are affordability, reliability and energy sustainability.

In the 21st century, economic growth relies on energy. Modern businesses want their energy to be affordable, reliable and clean. They require superior around-the-clock service at competitive prices, and they insist on sources of energy that will protect the environment. If states don’t meet these criteria, businesses quickly look elsewhere.

For operations adding up the pros and cons of relocating or expanding, Virginia offers an enviable set of energy pluses. Our prices are low. We are making huge strides in putting renewable resources to work. We are shoring up our electric grid. And in a few years, a major new pipeline promises to give Virginia, and particularly the Hampton Roads area, unprecedented new access to abundant, economical and environmentally friendly natural gas — a must-have for modern industrial operations.

Consider this from the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Overall electric rates in Virginia at the end of 2016 were almost 12 percent below the national average. They were 7 percent below the average for the South Atlantic states, the region with some of our main competitors. And the price benefits aren’t confined to large users — electric rates for Virginia homes and smaller businesses are also affordable and competitive.

Indeed, price has been a big factor in our ability to recruit energy-intensive data centers — the electronic hubs that route the world’s internet traffic. Northern Virginia has the largest share of these operations. But similar centers are being set up all over the state. This includes the data-center park now under development in Virginia Beach, to be linked to Europe by high-speed cables. Microsoft, Facebook and Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp. are all involved in this project, which opens the door to future energy-intensive economic development.

Also consider our progress in renewable energy — both biomass and solar. Our state’s largest electric utility, Dominion Virginia Power, produces electricity at power stations across the Southside region with waste wood left over from logging operations — waste that would otherwise rot and release methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Biomass-fueled power stations now generate enough electricity to supply the needs of almost 60,000 homes.

On the solar front, investment in these resources is approaching $1 billion in the commonwealth. Virginia is recognized as a national leader in solar partnerships between large customers and utilities, with individual firms and agencies picking up the cost of a solar facility, or even multiple facilities, dedicated to serving their needs. This means virtually no impact on other customers’ electric bills. And it means more than 3,000 acres of solar panels in operation, with many more on the way.

Of course, the source and price of energy don’t mean much if it’s not there when you need it. Here, too, we are making progress.

Our electric utilities have made significant investments in grid upgrades to meet federal reliability standards, including those designed to protect the physical security of the high-voltage electric transmission system. Dominion has launched a major program to place underground 20 percent of its most vulnerable distribution lines — the wires carrying power to homes and neighborhoods. The project is expected to reduce the length of a major power outage by as much as half.

With an eye on the future, our utilities also are examining other ways to modernize the power grid with high-tech improvements. These changes will be needed to ensure that the grid can accept the solar power flooding into it from small solar facilities across the state.

Energy reliability throughout Virginia, and especially in Hampton Roads, will take another huge step forward with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The project is being reviewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and it is expected to begin operation in late 2019.

The 600-mile pipeline — including a 70-mile spur carrying natural gas to the heart of Hampton Roads — will provide a direct link to the unprecedented gas production just a few hundred miles away in the Appalachian basin. Existing pipelines providing the clean-burning fuel to Virginia, and especially the Hampton Roads area, are severely stressed, handicapping our economic development efforts.

All that would be altered dramatically with the arrival of the pipeline.

Affordable, reliable, sustainable energy is a top priority for businesses to be able to grow in Virginia. We are in an enviable position as we chart our economic future with a balanced, sustainable energy policy that supports economic development and job growth while meeting the growing needs of businesses and families in the commonwealth.

Barry DuVal is president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Read the full story in The Virginian-Pilot.