VA Sierra Club: Dominion Needs to “Go Back to the Drawing Board” on Its Proposed New Integrated Resource Plan

From the Virginia Sierra Club:

Sierra Club Statement on Dominion Energy’s Proposed Integrated Resource Plan

IRP makes clear that ratepayers and climate cannot afford explosive data center growth. 

Richmond, Va – Yesterday, Dominion Energy proposed their 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the SCC, a document describing how the utility plans to meet energy demand over the next fifteen years. Among the many concerning elements of the IRP is the impact of data centers on Virginia’s energy grid, utility bills, and climate progress. The document makes clear that soaring energy demand is predominantly driven by data centers. Dominion plans to meet the needs of data centers by constructing massive quantities of methane gas-fired power plants, investing in unproven technologies, while preserving expensive, inefficient, and aging fossil fuel infrastructure – all of which will cost ratepayers billions through increased electric bills and sacrifice Virignia’s climate commitments.

In response, Connor Kish, Director of the the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter said:

“Dominion’s IRP further exposes the ugly truth: explosive data center growth is fundamentally unconducive to maintaining affordable electric bills. If Dominion Energy and Big Tech’s expectation is that the people of Virginia will pay for their new methane power plants, pay to keep fossil fuels running longer, pay for the cost of complying with federal law, when each plant must close by 2045, so they can earn sky-high profits, they need to go back to the drawing board.

It’s encouraging to see the State Corporation Commission require Dominion to provide information on the true impact of data center growth as it relates to ratepayers and Virginia’s zero-emission climate goal. Big Tech should be held accountable for the massive energy consumption of their data centers, and it is essential that they contribute fairly and responsively to the infrastructure that supports their operations. Instead, the IRP lays out a plan that unfairly forces ratepayers to pick up the tab for an industry that is profiting immensely while disregarding the financial and health impact on Virginia families.”

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