Dominion Power 2007 Annual Report Download - page 10

8Dominion 2007 Annual Report
Using a balanced portfolio of
generating fuels and technologies,
we plan to meet Virginia’s need
for nearly 4,000 megawatts of new
generation over the next decade.
The single largest potential project
involves emissions-free nuclear. In
late 2007 we filed for a combined
construction and operating license
with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission for a third nuclear
reactor—one that would produce
about 1,500 megawatts—at our
North Anna Power Station in Central
Virginia.* By moving ahead in the
regulatory approval arena, we will
keep this option available without
yet committing to it.
We also filed with the Virginia
State Corporation Commission for
permission to build the 585-
megawatt Virginia City Hybrid
Energy Center. This clean-coal,
carbon capture-compatible facility
will be able to burn coal, waste coal
and biomass. In addition, we entered
into an agreement to purchase a
power station development project
that will add about 600 megawatts in
Buckingham, Va., using natural gas.
The two projects together will provide
electricity to nearly 300,000 typical
Virginia homes and businesses.
Serving customer demand also
means adding new transmission lines.
We are investing nearly $1 billion over
the next three years to expand and
improve our 6,000-mile network of
transmission lines at critical locations.
SERVING THE NORTHEAST’S
ELECTRICITY NEEDS
Dominion is the largest power
producer in the New England portion
of the Northeast, supplying about
20 percent of its power in 2007.
We are boosting the capacity of
two existing generating facilities
in the Northeast this year. If approved,
capacity at our 1,951-megawatt
Millstone Power Station in
Connecticut will grow by nearly
4 percent. Our 1,076-megawatt natu-
ral gas-fired Fairless Power Station,
which serves high-demand load cen-
ters in and around Philadelphia, will
increase its capacity by 11 percent.
INVESTING IN NATURAL GAS
INFRASTRUCTURE
Our natural gas pipeline and storage
system is well positioned in the
mid-Atlantic to serve growing
Northeast markets. Further expan-
sions are necessary.
In an age in which utilities rely
increasingly on natural gas to gener-
ate electricity, two peak-load periods
for gas now exist: a winter peak to
heat homes and places of business,
and a summer peak for power gener-
ation to meet air-conditioning load.
Because of the two peaks and because
of expected economic growth in the
mid-Atlantic and Northeast, we plan
to invest $1.2 billion through 2010
on new transportation and storage.
Dominion Cove Point, our
liquefied natural gas import and
storage facility on the Chesapeake
Bay in Maryland, lies at the heart of
our natural gas strategy. By late
2008 we expect to have doubled its
storage and send-out capacity.
In another innovative project,
we plan to leach salt from under-
ground formations in Pennsylvania
and create caverns where natural gas
can be stored and withdrawn quickly.
Construction of the first phase of
the 20-billion-cubic-foot facility
should begin in 2009. We already
are talking with companies that are
interested in reserving space.
In addition, we have proposed new
gathering lines and processing facili-
ties to bring more natural gas into
Maryland and Northern Virginia.
ACHIEVING OUR
ENERGY-SAVING LIGHT BULB
TARGET WOULD RESULT IN A
CARBON REDUCTION EQUIVA-
LENT TO THE REMOVAL OF
ALMOST 270,000 CARS FROM
THE ROAD FOR ONE YEAR.
* Dominion’s ownership share would be about
1,300 megawatts.