Virginia

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco | Virginia | Williams

4th Circuit Panel Rejects Antis’ Plea to Block Transco SESE Work
May 21, 2026May 21, 2026

One week ago, MDN told you that a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) heard oral arguments from Big Green asking the court to block construction of Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE) while a court case challenging permits issued for the project grinds slowly through the legal system (see 4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe). This past Monday, the judges politely (in legalese) told Big Green to kiss off. Read More “4th Circuit Panel Rejects Antis’ Plea to Block Transco SESE Work”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | LDCs | M&A | NextEra Energy | Pennsylvania | South Carolina | Virginia

M-U Projects Potentially Impacted by NextEra/Dominion Merger
May 19, 2026May 19, 2026

Yesterday, MDN brought you the big news that NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy will combine in an all-stock transaction, creating the world’s largest regulated electric utility business serving approximately 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina (see NextEra Energy Buying, Merging with Dominion Energy for $66 Billion). Now that the news itself has settled in, analysts are beginning to explore what it means for this constituency and that constituency. Whenever there’s a takeover with new management, existing (or planned) projects can change. We wondered, what’s the list of projects owned by Dominion and NextEra in the Marcellus/Utica region that may change when the two companies join? Read More “M-U Projects Potentially Impacted by NextEra/Dominion Merger”
Industrywide Issues | Statewide VA | Taxation | Virginia

RGGI Carbon Tax Prices Soar as Va. Gov. Forces State to Rejoin
May 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Virginia is officially rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme this July after a liberal court deemed its previous withdrawal under former Governor Glenn Youngkin unlawful. This reentry forces utilities like Dominion Energy to resume purchasing carbon credits—modern-day indulgences for the “sin” of emitting carbon dioxide. The cost will be passed on to ratepayers through monthly bill increases (see Va. Utility Cos. Will Pass Cost of RGGI Carbon Tax on to Ratepayers). The price of carbon “credits” (indulgences) has soared due to Virginia rejoining. Do you think your electric bill is high now, Virginia? Just you wait and see. Read More “RGGI Carbon Tax Prices Soar as Va. Gov. Forces State to Rejoin”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco | Virginia | Williams

4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe
May 14, 2026May 14, 2026

It seems that not all of the judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) are clowns, the way the three judges who oversee cases dealing with the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project are (see 4th Circus Clown Judges Badmouth MVP Southgate in Oral Arguments). Another major pipeline project that, in some senses, competes with Southgate, Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), is also being sued by Big Green to block it (see Big Green Sues to Cancel Water Permit for Transco SESE Project). The case is also before the 4th Circuit, where oral arguments were heard yesterday. The SESE case is being heard by three judges different from those hearing the Southgate case. Read More “4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe”
Cumberland County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Virginia

Dominion Energy Floats Plan for New 3 GW Gas-Fired Power in Virginia
May 8, 2026May 8, 2026

You have to hand it to Dominion Energy, the company has brass… courage. In June 2023, Dominion announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes, to keep the lights on because solar and wind are not up to the task. Three years later, the CERC project still hasn’t started construction due to the lawfare efforts of the environmental left. Yet Dominion has just announced *another* new gas-fired power plant project, this one a whopping 3,000 megawatts (3 gigawatts!) two counties away from the CERC project. Read More “Dominion Energy Floats Plan for New 3 GW Gas-Fired Power in Virginia”
Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia

4th Circus Clown Judges Badmouth MVP Southgate in Oral Arguments
April 29, 2026April 30, 2026

Quick, send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here. We’re referring to three extremely liberal Democrat judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit). These three judges, for years, blocked the construction of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) until an Act of Congress forced them to back off and allow it to get built (see 4th Circuit Sees the Light, Dismisses Remaining Two MVP Lawsuits). These three are now considering a request from their donors (Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, et. al.) to block the construction of an extension of MVP from Virginia into North Carolina, called Southgate. The early signals are that the clowns will do just that. Read More “4th Circus Clown Judges Badmouth MVP Southgate in Oral Arguments”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco | Virginia | Williams

Big Green Sues to Cancel Water Permit for Transco SESE Project
April 23, 2026April 23, 2026

Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the Williams Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (see FERC Approves Williams Transco SESE Pipeline Project for VA, NC). The $1.5 billion SESE project will add 1.6 million dekatherms per day (1.6 Bcf/d) of natural gas transportation capacity, equivalent to serving approximately 9.8 million homes. It will be built in the same general area as the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project, starting near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Five environmental groups have sued to overturn a federal permit granted to Transco for the SESE project. Read More “Big Green Sues to Cancel Water Permit for Transco SESE Project”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia

MVP Southgate Gets FERC Permission to Start Building in Virginia
April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which began operations in 2024 through West Virginia and Virginia, is now slated for an extension, the MVP Southgate, into North Carolina. This expansion faces opposition from some residents and environmental groups who raise concerns about safety, environmental impact, eminent domain issues, and the need for increased natural gas infrastructure (they believe cataclysmic global warming comes from burning natural gas). Despite court challenges and past environmental violations, the project has received government approvals and is forging ahead. On March 23, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice to proceed with construction in Virginia. Read More “MVP Southgate Gets FERC Permission to Start Building in Virginia”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Taxation | Virginia

Va. Utility Cos. Will Pass Cost of RGGI Carbon Tax on to Ratepayers
April 6, 2026April 6, 2026

Virginia is officially rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme this July after a liberal court deemed its previous withdrawal under former Governor Glenn Youngkin unlawful. This reentry forces utilities like Dominion Energy to resume purchasing carbon credits—modern-day indulgences for the “sin” of emitting carbon dioxide, the same thing mammals exhale with every breath. The cost will be passed on to ratepayers through monthly bill increases. Virginians have no one to blame but themselves when their electric bills soar due to this idiotic carbon tax that does nothing more than allow politicians to pass out money to their favorite constituent groups as a reward for voting them into office. Welcome to the USSR of Virginia. Read More “Va. Utility Cos. Will Pass Cost of RGGI Carbon Tax on to Ratepayers”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | North Carolina | Pipelines | Virginia

Big Green Files Lawsuit to Block FERC Authorization of MVP Southgate
April 2, 2026April 2, 2026

On Tuesday, seven radicalized Big Green groups filed a court challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) authorization for Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, to construct the MVP Southgate gas pipeline. The petition for review, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Appalachian Mountain Advocates, and Sierra Club in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit), asks the court to vacate the amended certificate of convenience and public necessity issued by FERC in December 2025. Read More “Big Green Files Lawsuit to Block FERC Authorization of MVP Southgate”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide VA | Virginia

Va.’s Energy Czar Spent Months Trying to Block Gas-Fired Plant
March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Last year, MDN warned readers that the newly elected, incoming governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, is a radical left Democrat (see Va. Dems Jazzed to Push Unreliable Renewables, Block Data Centers). And indeed, she’s proven to be exactly how we described her. Not only is she pushing to re-enroll the state in an obscene carbon tax (the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI), but she just appointed Josephus Allmond as her Chief Energy Officer. Who is Allmond? An attorney with the uber-radical Southern Environmental Law Center. Allmond has led the opposition to the proposed Tenaska Expedition Generating Station (gas-fired power plant) in Fluvanna County, Va., speaking against it at local planning commission meetings and conducting community-activist training seminars. He essentially calls the project racist. Read More “Va.’s Energy Czar Spent Months Trying to Block Gas-Fired Plant”
AI | Industrywide Issues | Virginia

Ashburn, VA Landowners Offered $4.4 Million/Acre for Data Center
March 25, 2026March 25, 2026

Last week, MDN told you about one landowner in Luzerne County, PA, who became an overnight millionaire after selling his small farm to a company planning to build a data center on the land (see NEPA Landowner Sells Small Farm to Data Center for $17.8 Million). While northeastern PA is trying to become a data center corridor, there is already an established data center corridor in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. A new data center is being proposed for Data Center Alley in Loudon County, Virginia, and the developers are offering an eye-popping $4.4 million *per acre* to landowners to sell their land to them. Wow! Read More “Ashburn, VA Landowners Offered $4.4 Million/Acre for Data Center”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia

Virginia SCC Approves “Racist” VNG Compressor in Chesapeake
March 5, 2026March 5, 2026

Despite a “public outcry” (of 13 people), the Chesapeake City (Virginia) Council voted 6-3 last July to approve a compressor station for Virginia Natural Gas (see Chesapeake City Council Approves Va. NatGas Compressor Station). The proposed site is already zoned industrial and has other VNG operations already in place. It’s not like it’s being constructed in the middle of a neighborhood. However, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) hit the pause button on the project last August, to give the commission extra time to sift through the barrage of incoming lies that this compressor station is racist (see Virginia SCC Hits Pause on VNG Proposed Compressor in Chesapeake). It took six months, but the SCC released a final order on Tuesday approving the VNG compressor station project. Read More “Virginia SCC Approves “Racist” VNG Compressor in Chesapeake”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia

Antis File Lawsuit to Challenge Va. Permit for MVP Southgate Pipeline
February 26, 2026February 26, 2026

Several Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices, and the Center for Biological Diversity, have filed a legal challenge against a permit issued by Virginia for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate extension. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved a water permit for the project in January 2026. Big Green radicals argue that the pipeline “threatens” 138 streams, wetlands, and regional drinking water supplies. It’s the typical lawfare tactic used by the left to stall work on projects, hoping to delay them long enough that the builder (EQT in this case) gives up. Or if the builder won’t give up, they have to pay double or triple the price to construct it. That’s the game the radicals are playing. Read More “Antis File Lawsuit to Challenge Va. Permit for MVP Southgate Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chesterfield County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Virginia

Radical Groups File Lawsuit to Block Dominion Va. Peaker Plants
February 25, 2026February 25, 2026

The far-left Southern Environmental Law Center, representing three radical nonprofits, has appealed the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) approval of Dominion Energy’s $1.47 billion natural gas plant in Chesterfield County. The challenge is the first under both the Virginia Environmental Justice Act and the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Antis argue the 1,000-megawatt facility would disproportionately “harm” marginalized communities through increased pollution and significant health risks, including premature deaths. Critics maintain that Dominion failed to prioritize renewable alternatives or demonstrate a genuine threat to grid reliability, potentially placing unnecessary financial and health burdens on the public. Read More “Radical Groups File Lawsuit to Block Dominion Va. Peaker Plants”
Chesterfield County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Virginia

Va. SCC Reapproves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant
February 17, 2026February 17, 2026

In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes—to keep the lights on because solar and wind are not up to the task. The peakers will use gas from the Marcellus/Utica. Last November, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) finally approved the project (see Va. SCC Finally Approves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant). Three weeks later, in December, the SCC canceled its approval so it could consider an appeal filed by radical green groups (see Va. SCC Unapproves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant). We have a happy outcome of the review. Read More “Va. SCC Reapproves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant”