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Virginia energy office warns rapid demand growth requires ‘all‑of‑the‑above’ strategy
Summary
Glenn Davis, director of the Virginia Department of Energy, told VOWDA members the commonwealth faces a sharp increase in electricity demand—roughly 6.5% year-over-year—and emphasized the need for dispatchable resources such as gas and small modular reactors alongside renewables and storage to keep lights on.
The Virginia Department of Energy told the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority that state electricity demand is rising rapidly and that the commonwealth needs a mix of energy resources to maintain reliability as new loads come online.
"We're looking at a 6 and a half percent year over year growth in energy demand for Commonwealth of Virginia," Glenn Davis, director of the Virginia Department of Energy, told the authority. "Compare that to back 1 to 2% year over year back in 2020. So we're making the necessary adjustments."
Davis framed offshore wind as one important element of a broader, "all‑of‑the‑above" strategy that includes natural gas, nuclear small modular reactors (SMRs) and other technologies. He and members cautioned that variable resources such as wind and solar need dispatchable backups or storage to meet demand reliably, particularly as the state’s onshore and offshore capacity expands.
Members asked how state leaders had communicated with federal officials and the White House about project continuity amid recent federal scrutiny; Davis said staff and other officials had engaged in conversations but did not have full details on those interactions. The authority discussed adding a recommendation to the annual report to monitor and evaluate federal developments and legislative actions that could affect offshore-wind projects.
Davis also recommended flexibility in adjusting the Virginia Clean Economy Act given changing facts and new resource proposals, and noted PJM interconnection delays as a constraining factor on getting constructed capacity delivering into the grid. "You can build it, but if you can't get it online for seven years, you got a problem," he said.
The authority asked Department staff to keep the board updated on federal policy and regulatory developments and to incorporate a monitoring line into the annual report's recommendations.
