Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE:D) has expanded its solar generating portfolio in Ohio. Through one of its subsidiaries, the company has completed the acquisition of a 150MW Hardin solar generating facility. The acquisition comes when the company is increasingly investing in clean energy projects to address growing demand.
Dominion Solar Bet
With major companies looking to reduce their carbon footprint, most of them have turned to clean energy providers. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) has already confirmed it will take the electricity generated at the Hardin County facility as part of a long-term agreement signed prior to the project’s construction.
Dominion Energy owns solar arrays in nine other states, where it also owns and operates gas utilities. In addition, the acquisition is Dominion’s first solar energy investment in Ohio. In the city, the company currently owns and operates natural gas Distribution Company serving 1.2 million customers.
Keystone Pipeline Concerns
The acquisition comes at a time of brewing standoff between Canada and the new administration led by Joe Biden. The President has already made it clear his intentions to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit, a major oil transportation system between the two countries.
The cancellation is part of Biden’s promise that aligns with his environmental policies. The project has no place in Biden’s administration as the focus shifts to reducing carbon footprint through fossil fuels.
Similarly, the cancellation will be a big blow to Alberta’s provincial government, which has already signed an agreement to invest $1.5 billion in equity. Likewise, the project has been under construction in Canada for several months.
Geothermal Energy Push
The cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline project all but affirms the growing trend of ditching fossil fuels that continue to fuel climate change. Facing an uncertain future amid the growing push into clean energy, oil companies have already started tweaking their businesses.
Most oil companies are good at digging holes to extract oil and gas deep into the earth’s crust. Likewise, most of them are increasingly shifting their attention to digging for heat as part of geothermal energy production.
