News

The Virginia Pilot ran Virginia Advanced Energy Economy Director, Harry Godfrey’s opinion piece on Dominion’s exit from the PJM capacity market. Read snippets below and the full article here.

Earlier this year, America watched in shock as the Texas electrical grid all but collapsed in the midst of an historic winter storm. With power plants and pipelines hobbled by cold weather, Texans were left to huddle in their homes for days without light, heat and, in many cases, running water. Could that happen in Virginia?

Virginia Town & City magazine ran Virginia AEE's Harry Godfrey's article summarizing the state of advanced energy and its promise of economic growth, jobs and cleaner energy sources for the Commonwealth. See excerpts below from the article and read the entire piece here (p. 16 - 18).

Advanced energy is taking hold across the Commonwealth, from rooftop solar in Richmond to electric buses in Hampton Roads; from electric vehicle (EV) chargers popping up on I-81 to efficiency upgrades to public buildings across the state. The advanced energy industry is helping to grow and sustain Virginia’s economy. Today, the industry employs almost 100,000 people in the Commonwealth. That is more jobs than you will find in all the supermarkets and grocery stores across the state, twice as many as exist in our hospitality industry, and seven times the number in Virginia’s fossil fuel industry...

The Roanoke Times published this op-ed by Virginia Advanced Energy Economy's Harrison Godfrey, supporting Governor Northam’s veto of HB. 2611 (an attempt to restrict Virginia's ability to participate in market trading systems) and encouraging line-item veto of a similar restriction in the budget. See excerpts below and the entire Roanoke Times op-ed here:

On March 14, Gov. Northam issued one of his first vetoes this year. HB. 2611 would have made it harder for the Commonwealth to establish cost-effective, free-market emission rules for power plants. By vetoing it and the corresponding budget language, which we presume he will address, the governor did all Virginians, especially those living paycheck to paycheck, a favor.

Fredericksburg Freelance-Star published this op-ed by Harrison T. Godfrey, Virginia Advanced Energy Economy’s executive director. See excerpts below and read the entire Freelance-Star commentary about realizing the full benefits of grid modernization here:

LAST month, the State Corporation Commission rejected the majority of the provisions in Dominion Energy’s grid modernization plan, citing “high costs to customers outweigh(ing) … any proven benefits.” In other words, the SCC concluded that much of Dominion’s grid mod filing lacked justification when asking for ratepayers to foot a multi-billion-dollar bill... 

This Virginia Mercury opinion piece by Harry Godfrey, executive director of Virginia Advanced Energy Economy, discusses the state of advanced energy in Virginia and key policies Governor Northam should include in his new Energy Plan. Link to the full article here. Excerpts below: