Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 104) » introducinG Dominion’s multifaceted empire FARRELL ACTivE ON MANy FRONTS By MARTiN ROSENBERg in doMinion energy’s currenT annual report, Thomas F. Farrell II lauds a famous Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, for transforming America through decisive action in times of challenge. Farrell, 53, Dominion chairman, president and chief executive officer, thinks America is once again ready for a president of Jefferson’s stature. That president’s primary challenge will be developing a national energy policy, Farrell said in a recent interview in which he also discussed energy issues and the future of Dominion, which serves retail customers in 11 states. His comments, edited for style and length, follow. EnErgyBiz You have publicly stated that we cannot solve the carbon emissions problem by switching from coal generation to natural gas generation. FarrELL You can shut down all the coal plants in the United States, and if you only replace them with gas-fired power plants it puts you where we are today by 2050, given economic and population growth. We have to use everything we can think of to solve the problem — conservation, renewables, efficiency, gas-fired power plants. We must figure out a way to use coal and we have to use atomic energy. EnErgyBiz Are you confident that if we rely on all those technologies and push the frontier on our knowledge of all those technologies, we’ll get the problem solved? FarrELL Not unless other nations do the same thing. EnErgyBiz Dominion has 27,000 megawatts of generation. What are your plans for the next five years out? FarrELL We are seeking permits to build a 585-megawatt hybrid energy center, which is a fluidized-bed coal-burning facility that will also burn renewables up to 20 percent. We have filed for a 580-megawatt combined cycle plant in Virginia that’s been scheduled for a hearing in the fall. We have plans to build at least one other combined-cycle plant and a 1,500-megawatt nuclear plant, adding a third unit to our North Anna facility. The schedule that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given us puts that plant first in line for approval. PhOTO By DOug BuErLEin 104 E n E rgyB i z September/October 2008
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.