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Dominion Energy Chair, President, and CEO Robert "Bob" Blue believes renewable energy is the future — and said as much in his company's most recent Climate Report.
He doubled down on that prediction at the recent University of North Carolina Clean Tech Summit, stressing Dominion's commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050.
Dominion projects that under every set of assumptions modeled, solar energy will become the mainstay of its electricity generation fleet by 2040.
During an opening keynote addressing "Roadblocks to the Clean Energy Transition" and subsequent interview with SunCast Host Nico Johnson, Bob stressed Dominion's plans to become the most sustainable energy company in the country.
In today's podcast, Bob explains how Dominion is throwing off the mantle of a stodgy utility to become a leader in the energy transition.
"We do our work on the environment because it's the right thing to do," he said. "We comply with all environmental laws and regulations, but we understand that our customers want us to go above and beyond."
Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion is one of the largest regulated electric utilities in the United States, servicing more than 7 million customers in 16 states.
Blue has a vision of a cleaner, greener future, but it's grounded in business realities, and he made that perspective clear.
Some think cutting carbon-based energy sources is impossible, and any attempt to do so will destroy the economy, he explained. Others believe the transition carries no cost — no trade-offs or complex decisions.
"Both of these perspectives are flawed," he said. "We can achieve net zero. But to do so, we need to roll up our sleeves and make big decisions."
He said the energy transition hinges on three factors:
Reliability — "We're not going to leave our customers in the dark or the cold. As we retire fossil-fired units, we must ensure other power generation sources are available to pick up the load."
Affordability — "New solar farms cost money, and new wind farms cost money. Every new power line connecting solar and wind generation to homes and businesses costs money, particularly during high inflation. We must consider the effect on our customers in the near and long term."
Regulation — "There is a risk that customer energy needs and the push for the clean energy transition are happening more quickly than the required infrastructure can be realistically permitted and constructed."
Bob embraces reforms to the permitting process to make it easier for utilities to develop clean energy projects. "We need to work with regulators to speed up the process," he said.
Still, he's optimistic and emphasized Dominion is "leaning forward" on clean energy to address what its customers want.
Dominion has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% since 2005, is on track to meet its interim targets for reducing emissions by 2030 and is "well-positioned" to achieve its net-zero goal by 2050, he added.
Bob noted Dominion received top ratings for climate and water security from the CDP, a not-for-profit charity whose global disclosure system helps investors, companies, cities, states and regions manage their environmental impacts. Dominion earned "A" grades for its disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks and best practices.
"It's external validation that what we're doing is working, and we need to keep it up," he said.
Bob said Dominion continues to engage with communities on solar projects and is expanding investments in offshore wind and renewable natural gas — biogas produced from organic waste.
"We're upgrading our grid, making it more robust, more resilient, smarter, better able to handle the intermittent, sometimes bi-directional flow of renewable energy," he said.
"These technologies hold tremendous promise in helping our company and industry reach our goals. But it takes people to develop the technology, and it takes people to build, install and operate the technology. And as technology advances, the need for high-performing individuals willing to learn increases," he said.
He said Dominion recruits from the "broadest and deepest" talent pool possible. From 2017 through 2021, the company grew its workforce diversity by 10% and intends to continue that progress.
If you've ever wondered how traditional utilities will fare in the coming decades, tune into today's podcast. Bob shares many interesting insights about how he's evolving a regulated utility to take a more prominent role in a new generation of power sources. You won't want to miss it.
Since joining Dominion in 2005, Bob has held a succession of services and operational executive roles. He became CEO and president in October 2020 and chair of the company's board of directors in 2021.
Earlier in his career, he was a counselor and director of policy for Virginia Governor Mark Warner and an attorney at Hogan & Hartson. He holds a BA and MBA from the University of Virginia and a JD from Yale Law School.
NOTEWORTHY QUOTEs:
“These technologies hold tremendous promise in helping our company and industry reach our goals. But it takes people to develop the technology, and it takes people to build, install and operate the technology. And as technology advances, the need for high-performing individuals willing to learn increases”
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Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
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