See below for a statement from Dominion Energy – a major corporation and one of the most powerful political players in Virginia – on the death of its long-time CEO, Tom Farrell, who retired yesterday and died just a day later of cancer. Condolences to his friends, colleagues and family. Among his other activities, such as the $1 billion Navy Hill project – which the Richmond City Council voted in February 2020 to kill – Farrell led Dominion for a looong time – since right after Tim Kaine was elected governor – and just stepped down yesterday:
After 14 years leading Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc., Thomas F. Farrell II is retiring as the utility’s executive chairman, effective April 1, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings submitted by the Fortune 500 company last week. Farrell is also stepping down from the company’s board of directors; he will remain on for two months as a special adviser to Dominion President and CEO Robert Blue, who also takes over as board chairman April 1.
It certainly was an eventful final couple years for Farrell, with big news such as:
- Dominion Takes Step in Establishing Offshore Wind Industry: Contracts for Construction/Services Ship (December 16, 2020)
- BREAKING: Dominion, Duke Announce They’re CANCELING the Atlantic Coast Pipeline! (July 5, 2020)
- Major Clean Energy Milestone: Virginia’s First Offshore Wind Installed (June 29, 2020)
Unfortunately, under Farrell’s leadership, Dominion had a poor environmental and clean energy record, although that appears to have been changing, per the above stories. For instance, see:
- New Sierra Club Report Gives Dominion Energy a Pathetic “D” Grade on Becoming “Carbon Neutral” (January 25, 2021)
- Brand-New Energy Efficiency Scorecard of U.S. Utilities Ranks Dominion Near Dead Last…Utterly Abysmal (February 20, 2020)
- How’s Dominion Energy Doing on the “Four Ds?” (Hint: Not Well!) Those “4 d’s,” per Jigar Shah of “The Energy Gang” podcast, are: “democratized,” “decentralized,” “decarbonized” and “digital” (December 28, 2019)
Still, Dominion does appear to be pivoting somewhat, having canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and moved to “strategically reposition” itself towards “‘Pure-Play,’ State-Regulated, Sustainability-Focused Utility Operations.” And, of course, Dominion is now operating in the context of plummeting clean energy costs, the Virginia Clean Economy Act becoming law, the urgency of the climate crisis, and a drastic change in energy/enviro policy at the federal level. Which means that Farrell’s successor, Bob Blue, will have his work cut out for him in coming years. Let’s hope that he embraces the challenges and opportunities presented by the need to move towards a 100% clean energy economy, rather than digging in his heels and trying to drag it out as long as possible. We’ll be watching…
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