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The Kraken Awakens: Another Power Grab
So, Dominion Energy's at it again, huh? Another shiny new project, another massive power line slicing through Virginia. They're calling it the "Kraken Loop," and honestly, that name alone should tell you everything you need to know. A mythical beast, a tangled mess, ready to sprawl across Louisa, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Stafford, and Fauquier counties. It's a 70-mile, 500-kilovolt monster connecting North Anna to new substations, and it’s coming whether you like it or not.
Dominion spokesman Craig Carper trots out the usual corporate boilerplate: "Oh, it's not just data centers, folks! Think EVs! Think AC!" Give me a break. Let's be real here. We ain't stupid. This exploding energy demand, expected to roughly double by 2038, is overwhelmingly about data centers. Period. These server farms, fueled by the insatiable appetite of artificial intelligence, suck power like a black hole. Everything else is just window dressing to make it sound less… rapacious. You see the signs, you hear the chatter, and suddenly, the idea of an endless flow of power lines across our beautiful state feels less about progress and more about facilitating a land grab. Erin Sanzero, president of Protect Stafford, a local watchdog group, hit the nail on the head. She’s worried this new infrastructure opens up "big parcels out in western Hartwood" – land that was once safe from the sprawl, now prime for another server farm. Imagine sitting in that Madison Elementary School gym, the fluorescent lights humming, listening to some Dominion rep drone on about "community input" while knowing your backyard might soon host a 500-kilovolt highway. It's a gut punch.
Greenwashing the Grid: A Shady Strategy
And then there's the "clean energy" song and dance. Eleven new solar and battery projects, they brag. Sounds great on paper, right? It’s Dominion Energy Virginia’s largest clean energy filing to date, a whopping $2.9 billion investment in solar farms and battery storage. One of those, Bedford Solar, has been powering a slice of the state since 2021, and now they want to expand its reach. But then, in the same breath, they're talking natural gas "peaker plants" and these mythical small modular reactors (SMRs) that haven't even proven they work yet. It's like building a vegan restaurant but keeping a secret steakhouse in the back. This "all of the above" energy strategy isn't about vision; it's about desperation. They're trying everything, hoping something sticks, all while the beast of demand, a ravenous, silicon-fueled Godzilla, keeps growing.
The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA)? Forget about it. That 2020 mandate for Dominion to go 100% renewable by 2045? A pipe dream. Dominion's already telling regulators it's "nearly impossible" to hit those carbon-free targets. What was the point, then? You can't just mandate clean energy and then ignore the fact that solar and wind only work when the sun shines and the wind blows. And current lithium-ion batteries? They're glorified glorified power banks that only last a few hours. This isn't a transition; it's a frantic scramble, and the public is caught in the middle.
The Bill Comes Due: Who Pays for Progress?
How's Dominion Energy funding this energy gold rush, you ask? By constantly hitting up the capital markets, offcourse. US$328 million here, another US$738 million there, all through common stock offerings. Earlier in November, they closed one shelf registration and filed a new one. How Dominion Energy's (D) Accelerated Equity Raising May Shape Its Long-Term Growth Ambitions - simplywall.st It's almost like they're playing a high-stakes game of "pass the buck" with their investors and, ultimately, us, the ratepayers. Analysts are already raising eyebrows about the sustainability of the company's dividend. You can’t keep issuing new equity without eventually diluting value, right?
Their Q3 results looked good, sure, showing increased power demand and higher earnings. But that’s tied directly to their ability to keep building these massive, regulated projects and earning fat returns. It's a self-perpetuating machine, ain't it? More demand, more projects, more capital, higher dominion energy bill for us, and the cycle continues. If you're wondering why your dominion energy bill keeps climbing, look no further than this endless expansion. And what happens when a major project hits a snag, or a dominion energy outage hits a major data center? The costs get passed down, always. I mean, they anticipate $17.8 billion in revenue by 2028. That's a lot of dough, and it's coming from somewhere.
They say energy demand is gonna double by 2038. Double! That's a staggering number, driven by AI, EVs, AC... and honestly, I'm starting to wonder if we've completely lost our minds. This isn't just growth; this is a runaway bullet train, and we're all just strapped into the back car, watching the landscape get carved up. Then again, maybe I'm just an old cynic shouting into the void. Maybe this is truly the only way forward. But it sure feels like we're trading one set of problems for another, all while the meter keeps spinning for Dominion Energy.
Same Old Song, Different Tune
Let's be real. Dominion Energy isn't just trying to keep the lights on; they’re building an empire, one transmission line and data center at a time. This Kraken Loop, these solar farms, these vague promises of future tech – it's all part of a massive, profit-driven machine that's going to reshape Virginia, whether we like it or not. And we, the customers, the residents, the little guys, are just along for the ride, picking up the tab and dealing with the fallout.