It's WINDSday | January 3, 2024

Celebrating the Power of Wind, Clean Energy and a Green Environment

Bob Blue has degrees from UVA (undergrad plus MBA) and Yale (Law), was a counselor to a Governor (Warner), and has worked for Dominion Energy (DE) since 2005, rising in 2020 to become its Chairman, President and CEO. But until November 1^st, when a host of state and local leaders welcomed eight monopiles to Portsmouth Marine Terminal, he had never hoisted a WINDSday fan.

As our friends know, that action triggers an interview, which Bob gladly granted. And given that DE’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is proceeding on budget and on time, during a trying period for the industry generally, Mr. Blue is anything but. “Our model is working,” he says. “We established firm contracts with our vendors before we went to state regulators. We knew our costs up front but are keeping a close eye on factories in Europe, which are building our equipment including blades and cables, to be sure we meet construction deadlines.”

And Blue says DE, which is used to “doing big things” like the Surry Nuclear Plant, Bath County Pump Storage Station (dubbed the world’s largest battery), and a major grid transformation program, has built significant political backing for CVOW, particularly in Hampton Roads where it serves lots of households and large commercial users. “We have been gratified by how well the individual cities, regional agencies, unions and others have supported us.” Put the legislature and Governor Glenn Youngkin in that space too. “Having the Governor at the monopile event meant the world to us. He sees the economic opportunity renewable energy is creating. The administration is on board, but we know we must perform.”

And there are significant steps ahead. Dominion must erect a 15 or so mile mostly overhead transmission line from the state military reservation in VA Beach to a substation in Chesapeake, which neighbors along the route know about thanks to an extensive public information effort. “Our on the ground team has done a great job engaging with the community.”

Of course CVOW is just one item on Bob Blue’s plate. “Our shareholders are very focused on the success of this $10-billion project,” he says, but Dominion also supplies electricity in parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, natural gas in those states plus Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Ohio and has generation facilities in both Carolinas, Virginia, of course, as well as West Virginia and Connecticut. “We believe in the value of renewable energy, but we must continue operating fossil fuel-based units as well. It’s all about ensuring reliability.”

And for Dominion Energy and its millions of electricity users, that’s the bottom line.

No one compliments this weekly missive more frequently and fervently than Jayne Sullivan, so let’s compliment her.

Jayne was a public-school teacher and administrator for 28 years in St. Mary’s County, Maryland before moving to Virginia Beach to become part of a monumental change in how our nation treats children with disabilities. “We used to call them retarded and put them in trailers behind the school building and assign unprepared teachers to manage them. We basically locked them in a closet,” she recalls. “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that Congress passed in 1990 required school districts to provide the same opportunity for those students as ones without a disability.”

And for 24 years at Virginia Wesleyan, Jayne taught hundreds of future teachers how to help children mainstream into society and become productive citizens.  “It has made a world of difference, telling schools they must design individual plans for each child.” 

Now retired from VWU, Jayne is an active Cape Henry Rotarian. What she does for WINDSdays by reading this newsletter so avidly pales in comparison to what she did for society. Bless you Jayne Sullivan.

If you want to know the names of all the hotels along the Virginia Beach resort strip, ask these guys.

They scrub the carpets in most of them. But Steam Pro does much more to keep the local hospitality industry in good shape for its employees and guests. “We clean tile, dryer vents, trash and linen chutes as well as remediate mold and repair damage from leaks and extract water,” says company president Tony Parrow. “We also remove grease build-up from exhaust hoods and even pizza ovens. We prevent a lot of kitchen fires.”

Dennis Billups, Steam Pro's "go-to"

Green Run High grad Mike Hampton started the company, which operates out of warehouse space off London Bridge Road, 29 years ago. “He just moved to Houston where he opened a new office for us,” says Vice President for Sales Eddie Klepk. “We are busy here 24-7 because we clean hotel lobbies and commercial kitchens overnight.”

“Hyatt Place just called to tell us how great Dennis Billups is,” says Eddie. “He’s our go-to on most everything.” Want to learn the ins and outs of cleaning from a top firm in the region? Visit www.steamprobrands.com, our newest WINDSday friend. 

A popular feature in this weekly missive are restaurants/food purveyors whose owners post our WINDSday stickers and pose with our fans.

Here’s where we took you in 2023.

1^st Landing Oysters

501 Bar+Kitchen

757 Jerky

Alate

All Good Granola

Azars

Cantina Laredo 

Chapman’s Market

Chicken Salad Chicks

Cindy’s Produce

Clayton’s

Coastal Café

Cove Tavern

Cullipher Farms

Cure Coffee

Cutlass Grille

Deadrise

Doodle Do Farms

Driftwood Kitchen

El Charro

Fred’s

Harbor Park

Harvest

Hubs Peanuts

Kings Grant Farmers Market

Lendy’s

Mesob Café

Nothing But Bundt

Pancake House at Wards Corner

Pancakes and Things

Pizza Box

Roast Rider

Scoot's BBQ

Smartmouth

Sumo

Uncle Al’s

Waters Edge Winery

Waterman's

Wing Stops

Wydia’s

Yorgo’s

Have a favorite, anywhere in the region, that you believe deserves a little notoriety and would be willing to promote us? Email season@windsdays.com. And google any of these for location, hours and menus.

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