Virginia
Virginia bill to let non-utilities supply offshore wind energy pushed back to 2025 – Virginia Mercury
A bill that would have opened the door for someone other than Dominion Energy to supply Virginia with the remaining amount of offshore wind energy it needs to comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act won’t be considered until 2025 after senators voted to carry it over to the next session.
The legislation from Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, was backed by multiple major renewable energy companies and would have required the Virginia Department of Energy to conduct a competitive bidding process for non-utility developers to provide that needed amount of electricity.
“I’m worried that we’re not going to meet our goals on alternative energy,” Deeds said in a Jan. 29 meeting of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, which he chairs.
As industry struggles, federal, state offshore wind goals could get tougher to meet
But Deeds chose not to put the bill up for debate, instead saying it could be sent to the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation for consideration.
“I’m pretty good at counting votes, and I just didn’t have the votes to get the bill out of committee,” Deeds told the Mercury. “I am hopeful the CEUR can look at the bill and produce something we can get passed.”
Dominion, however, has said the proposal is a bad idea because buying power from a third-party offshore wind developer could be more expensive than producing the power itself through a utility-owned wind farm like the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project that is under construction.
“Virginia is leading the nation in offshore wind because our regulatory model is working,” said Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for Dominion. “We’re building the largest project in the country, it’s one of the least expensive, and it’s on time and on budget.”
What the bill would do
Under the Virginia Clean Economy Act, a law passed in 2020 that requires the state’s electric grid to decarbonize by 2050, Dominion must propose the construction or purchase of offshore wind facilities capable of producing up to 5.2 gigawatts of electricity by the end of 2035. The utility is currently constructing the 2.6-gigawatt CVOW project to deliver the first tranche of that requirement.
Deeds’ bill would have altered that plan by letting Dominion fulfill its requirements by purchasing energy from a third party that develops offshore wind off Virginia’s coast. It would also have ordered the state Department of Energy to hold a competitive bidding process to secure the remaining 2.6 gigawatts of wind energy Dominion needs to meet its larger target.
That process would occur within three months of the federal government issuing a lease in the Central Atlantic. Dominion would be allowed to enter a bid to supply energy if it acquires another offshore wind lease and constructs its own facility.
The state Department of Energy would select the winning bid within two years of issuing the request for proposals based on construction costs, economic and environmental impacts, and inflation predictions. The State Corporation Commission, Dominion’s regulators, would then approve the winning bid and take over regulatory oversight of the electricity being delivered to Virginia for the project.
“We left that safeguard in place,” said Ken Kimmell, vice president of offshore wind development for renewable energy developer Avangrid, which is developing a wind project off the coast of North Carolina and is one of the backers of Deeds’ bill.
Limited leases
Non-utility wind developers have argued the bill is necessary because limited wind lease areas could prevent Dominion from being able to build new offshore wind projects.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management oversees the creation of lease areas where offshore wind can be developed. This July, BOEM finalized the boundaries of three new wind areas in the Mid-Atlantic region: one near the coast of Delaware Bay, another off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland and a third adjacent to Dominion’s CVOW off Virginia Beach. In December, however, the bureau excluded the Maryland site from its proposed list of leases to auction off, saying its development would require “significant costs and mitigation.”
While BOEM said the Maryland area could be part of a potential second lease sale that could occur as early as 2025, the removal of the site from immediate consideration has driven up developer interest in the area off Virginia Beach.
Evan Vaughan, executive director of MAREC Action, a coalition of renewable energy developers backing the bill, said the auction for the area adjacent to CVOW is going to be “hotly contested.” Allowing other companies to compete to supply Virginia with energy from that site, he argued, could help drive down ratepayer costs as developers vie to make their bids more attractive to the state.
“It’s a cost containment mechanism that ultimately will help ensure that Virginia ratepayers get the best deal for offshore wind,” Vaughan said, although he acknowledged that companies would also stand to benefit from the legislation.
Furthermore, he argued, because wind developers can sell electricity in Maryland, the winner of the lease off Virginia Beach could choose to sell the electricity it generates to that state.
“In that case, Dominion literally has no way to meet the VCEA, period, unless they find a way to contract with one of those companies out of their own volition, which up til this point, they haven’t done,” Vaughan said.
A system that’s working?
Dominion in turn has argued there’s no need to fix things that aren’t broken.
“Let’s stick with the model that’s working for future projects,” Ruby said. “It’s the best way to build offshore wind affordably for our customers.”
While the $9.8 billion CVOW is moving forward, he said, other offshore wind projects along the East Coast are facing stiff headwinds, with projected cost increases or cancellations. Meanwhile, Ruby noted the utility recently adjusted CVOW’s levelized cost of electricity — the estimated cost of building and operating an energy facility over its lifetime — from $80 to $90 per megawatt-hour to $77 per megawatt-hour. This August, analysts at BloombergNEF calculated that the levelized cost of electricity for U.S. offshore wind projects had risen almost 50% between 2021 and 2023, to over $114 per megawatt-hour.
“The PPA model is clearly not working,” said Ruby, referring to the power purchase agreements that govern the sale of electricity from non-utilities to energy suppliers. “Many of the PPA projects are either delayed, cancelled, or significantly more expensive than CVOW.”
Dominion also said it’s too early to be worried about not getting the lease and aired concerns that giving oversight of the bid process to the Department of Energy would erode the SCC’s powers, an issue numerous lawmakers, environmental groups and ratepayer advocates have said is detrimental for ratepayers.
Next steps
Deeds never made a formal motion to send his legislation to the CEUR, but he told the Mercury he’s hopeful that the body can look at the bill and produce something “we can get passed.”
Both Vaughan and Kimmell said they are looking forward to continued conversation on the proposal.
“I do think that the Virginia legislative session is short, so there isn’t always time to really get into the detailed consideration of something that’s important like this,” said Kimmell.
Deeds’ proposed process is similar to one laid out in a legislative amendment sought by Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year, although Youngkin’s plan called for Dominion to select the winning bid in consultation with a group including representatives of the Department of Energy. The amendment was overruled by the General Assembly.
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Virginia Tech football embarks on its penultimate road test of the season in late November when it travels to Miami Gardens, Fla., to take on perennial ACC power Miami.
While the Hurricanes haven’t won the ACC title yet — they’ve consistently been near the top, and they won the Coastal Division in 2017 — they’ve been at the forefront of the conference, and this year, they seem to be the lone proven unit that doesn’t have a gaping weakness.
Miami boasts the only top-15 defense on SP+, entering the season with the No. 7 projected deffense. Its offense clocks in at No. 12, which is also tops, while its overall ranking of No. 8 places it 15 spots ahead of Clemson. Notre Dame clocks in at No. 3 overall, but since it isn’t a part of the conference for football, Miami takes the cake for the conference.
That starts under center. Darian Mensah arrives after a hotly contested exit from Duke. Mensah, who projects out as an NFL-level quarterback, tied for second in the nation in both passing yards (3,973) and passing touchdowns (34), while throwing only six interceptions and producing a QBR of 76.6, good for No. 19 in the country.
Mensah isn’t a dual threat quarterback, however. He absorbed 27 sacks last year with the Blue Devils and logged a net-minus-32 rushing yards on 59 totes. He’s on his third school in as many years after coming from Tulane to Duke, and now, from Durham to the Hurricanes. Mensah was named All-ACC Second Team after his near-4,000-yard season — and his passing yard total led the conference, too. He threw for 300-plus yards in six games — including a four-touchdown, 361-yard output against Clemson in a 46-45 win and a 327-yard, four-touchdown contest against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.
Intriguingly enough, the Virginia Tech-Miami matchup will pit Mensah up against one of his former receivers in Que’Sean Brown, who will likely start at wideout for the Hokies. Brown recorded 846 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns on 64 catches for the Blue Devils last season.
Mensah wasn’t the only prospect to defect from Duke to Miami. Wide receiver Cooper Barkate is also maing the trek south. Barkate, who’s also on his third school after a prior stint at Harvard, racked up 1,106 receiving yards, seven touchdowns and 72 receptions last season as a Blue Devil, and the returning quarterback-wideout connection should serve the Hurricanes very well.
If that’s not enough, Miami also added Cam Vaughn, a redshirt junior who’s totaled 1,344 receiving yards and nine touchdowns over the past two seasons, which included a season apiece at Jacksonville State and West Virginia. They also brought in South Carolina wideout Vandrevius Jacobs, who totaled 548 receiving yards and four touchdowns for 17.1 yards per catch in 2025.
Oh, and then there’s Malachi Toney. Last season, the then-true freshman led the nation in receptions with 109, finished fifth in the FBS with 1,211 receiving yards and added 10 touchdowns. Moreover, he added 113 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 totes, went 4-for-7 for 82 yards nad two touchdowns as a Wildcat quarterback and returned 23 punts for 298 yards.
That consistency does not stop when purveying the running back position. Mark Fletcher is back after a 1,192-yard, 216-carry, 12-touchdown season. Over the past three seasons, he’s racked up a daunting 2,313 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns, adding 140 receiving yards in 2025, too.
Miami also returns depth piece Charmar Brown. After a 1,181-yard, 15-touchdown season with North Dakota State in 2024, Brown logged 474 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season as a Hurricane. Girard Pringle also returns after a 375-yard, four-touchdown output as a true freshman; against NC State, he produced 116 rushing yards (17 carries) and he also added 82 rushing yards (10 carries) against then-No. 22 Pittsburgh in a 38-7 blowout win.
Where Miami may hold a weakness — if it can be called that — is in its front. The Hurricanes lost defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft, though they return Ahmad Moten Sr., who logged 31 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Armondo Blount also comes back after a 17-tackle, 2.5-sack season, though the D-line is undoubtedly less proven than a year prior.
When pivoting towards the secondary, one name that jumps out is defensive back Omar Thornton, who comes over from Boston College. Last year, he totaled 82 tackles (56 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and forced four fumbles. Star freshman Bryce Fitzgerald is also back for Year 2 after he totaled six interceptions last season. Xavier Lucas and Ethan O’Connor also return after combining for 15 pass breakups and 13 pass deflections in 2025.
I think Miami should be the No. 1 game circled on Virginia Tech’s schedule this season. It’s also why I believe it’ll be the least-debated of the Hokies’ 12 games. While the Hurricanes haven’t always closed the deal in recent years, Virginia Tech’s relative lack of proven production leads me to side with the known quantity.
The Hokies have not won against Miami since 2019. In 2025, Virginia Tech fell behind 20-3 at halftime and couldn’t recover in a 34-17 loss. The 2024 rendition was far more competitive, coming down to the wire in a hotly-contested 38-34 loss for the Hokies. Virginia Tech initially won on a Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Da’Quan Felton that was overturned following a lengthy review.
Virginia Tech’s clash against Miami will take place on Saturday, Nov. 21, at Hard Rock Stadium, with no time or TV channel announced at the time of writing. Only one game remains after that in the regular season for the Hokies: the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, coming against archrival Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 28 at Lane Stadium.
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Staunton sits in the Shenandoah Valley with a theater company performing in a reconstructed Jacobean playhouse, a presidential library, and a downtown of intact railroad-era brick lined with working offices and shops. It also still costs less than Charlottesville an hour away. That mix, a center worth living in and a price a working household can actually carry, is harder to find in Virginia than it used to be, as the Charlottesville and Northern Virginia markets price out the people who grew up near them. The ten towns below manage it. None of them is a secret, and none needs to be.
Staunton
Cost is a real part of Staunton’s case: prices have risen across the Valley, yet the city often remains below Charlottesville while keeping a stronger center than most nearby towns. Beverley Street carries offices, restaurants, shops, and the Wharf district, so the old railroad fabric is still in everyday use. The American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse gives the city a serious theater draw, and it sits near the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum without either institution overwhelming the other. The Staunton Farmers’ Market draws a steady local crowd on Saturday mornings. Reunion Bakery & Espresso, Gypsy Hill Park, and the R.R. Smith Center for History & Art fill out a downtown with more going on than its size suggests.
Abingdon
On Abingdon’s Main Street, the courthouse, storefronts, inns, and restaurants still sit on the same walkable line. Barter Theatre is the obvious institution, but local identity does not depend on one name. The Virginia Creeper Trail starts close by and shapes weekends before and after the ride. White’s Mill keeps Washington County craft and milling history visible without requiring a dedicated trip. The Martha Washington Inn & Spa keeps a major 19th-century building in active use as a hotel and restaurant. Wolf Hills Coffee and the Abingdon Farmers Market are well-used local establishments. Housing remains less expensive than in larger Virginia metro areas, though addresses nearest the center bring their own premium.
Lexington
For a town of its size, Lexington carries an unusually heavy public memory. The courthouse area still serves present needs through the Lexington Farmers Market, coffee stops, bookstores, offices, and dinner at Zunzun. That said, Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute still make the past difficult to ignore through the University Chapel & Galleries, the VMI Museum and the George C. Marshall Foundation’s research library and public programs. That weight can be useful, and it can also crowd the municipality. Prices run higher here than in many Valley towns, pushed by campus demand and limited inventory within the municipal grid. The Chessie Nature Trail gives the place a needed release, with a Maury River route for walking and cycling when the institutional presence feels dense.
Waynesboro
Waynesboro is at its best when it does not try to smooth out its industrial past. The main outdoor draw is the Claudius Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail, a 4,273-foot walk through a railroad tunnel bored under Rockfish Gap in the 1850s. Back in town, the South River, freight lines, older brick masonry, and former factory space give Waynesboro a plain Blue Ridge character that holds up. Basic City Beer Co. uses that inheritance well, with beer, music, and pizza in a reused industrial property. The central blocks include the Waynesboro Heritage Museum, the Shenandoah Valley Art Center, seasonal produce stalls, and a working stock of shops and services. Housing generally remains more attainable than in Charlottesville or Albemarle, which explains part of the appeal.
Front Royal
At the north end of Skyline Drive, Front Royal has a role few places can avoid once they receive it: gateway to Shenandoah National Park. That fact shapes restaurants, traffic, and weekend timing. Even so, the town has its own civic texture. Belle Boyd Cottage gives the Civil War record a human scale, Skyline Caverns has taken visitors underground since the 1930s, and Warren County growers keep Saturday mornings from belonging only to park traffic. Main Street Daily Grind remains the coffee stop, while Spelunker’s has built a direct reputation on burgers, custard, and a line at busy hours. Prices are no longer bargain-level, but Front Royal still undercuts the towns closer to the Washington suburbs, which is much of why commuters willing to drive the I-66 corridor have kept settling here.
Luray
Luray Caverns sets the public image, and the Great Stalacpipe Organ remains the detail visitors remember, but the town around them stands on its own. Practical services matter here as much as the visitor draw: groceries, schools, Page Memorial Hospital, and a downtown solid enough to support full-time residents. Gathering Grounds Patisserie & Cafe and Page County growers at Ruffner Plaza give the center an everyday pull of its own. The Hawksbill Greenway gives walkers a creekside route through town. Shenandoah National Park sits close enough for early hikes or late drives on Skyline Drive, and the Mimslyn Inn adds a 1930s landmark that earns its keep through dining, lodging, and area events.
Farmville
Far enough from Richmond and Lynchburg to have its own pull, Farmville is anchored by Longwood University, Prince Edward County offices, and Green Front Furniture’s warehouse buildings. The Robert Russa Moton Museum gives the area’s civil-rights record the seriousness it requires. High Bridge Trail State Park is the clear outdoor asset, especially where the restored bridge carries walkers and cyclists above the Appomattox River. Uptown Coffee Café and the Farmville Community Marketplace see steady local traffic. The Fishin’ Pig fills a different role, serving barbecue and fish to a steady regional crowd. Housing has tended to be lower-priced than in fast-growing parts of the state, but distance from larger employment hubs is built into that price.
Bedford
Bedford does not need much staging. The National D-Day Memorial is the defining institution, sober and specific, tied to the Bedford Boys and the losses in Normandy. Around the courthouse area, Bridge Street Café, the Bedford Farmers Market, and older residential blocks sit within easy reach of one another. Peaks of Otter and Sharp Top put demanding Blue Ridge hiking within a short drive. Beale’s Brewery brings evening traffic to Grove Street, and the Bower Center for the Arts keeps classes, exhibits, and events available without overstating its role. Buyers can find houses within the grid, brick ranches, and acreage outside it. What Bedford offers is a serious institution, a walkable center, and quick mountain access, without the price of the larger metros.
Wytheville
At the meeting point of I-77 and I-81, Wytheville holds a functional role that predates travel branding. It serves motorists, nearby rural areas, courthouse business, and residents who want Southwest Virginia prices without leaving services behind. Skeeter’s World Famous Hotdogs, open since 1925, remains the lunch counter that needs little explanation. Big Walker Lookout provides the clearest mountain view, with a country store and craft demonstrations at the tower. The Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace is a worthwhile stop on its own terms, focused on the only Appalachian-born First Lady. The Haller-Gibboney Rock House preserves early Wytheville history in an 1820s brick structure. Seasonal vendor stalls give the center its own pull for the people who live around it.
Christiansburg
Christiansburg often gets read as a Blacksburg satellite, but it carries its own economy. The appeal begins with function: Virginia Tech access, the Huckleberry Trail, Roanoke Valley jobs, and Montgomery County services usually come at a lower cost than Blacksburg allows. The Montgomery Museum of Art & History keeps local records, railroad material, Civil War items, and rotating exhibits in public view. The town farmers market runs Thursdays at Huckleberry Park from May through October. Fatback Soul Shack serves barbecue and fried chicken without performance. Sinkland Farms, just outside town, adds concerts, pumpkins, and farm events that draw a crowd separate from campus calendars. Christiansburg is plain in ways that matter: useful roads, real stores, civic institutions, and enough distance from campus culture to keep its own habits.
What The Cost Gap Buys
The thread running through these ten is a cost gap that has not yet closed. A salary that buys a condo in Charlottesville or a townhouse outside the Beltway buys a house with a yard in Waynesboro, Farmville, or Wytheville, and buys it inside a town that still has a downtown worth walking to. What you trade is distance, from the biggest job markets, sometimes from the nearest interstate, and that trade is the whole calculation. For households who can make the distance work, whether through remote jobs, a commuter bus, or simply a shorter career drive, these are the Virginia towns where the math still favors staying.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Former University of Kentucky men’s basketball guard Kerr Kriisa was arrested by FBI agents and is expected to be extradited to West Virginia in connection with alleged fraud charges, according to a report from On3.
The Fayette County Detention Center confirms to WKYT that Kriisa is being held there. They confirm that he was arrested on the evening of July 3, but due to it being a federal case, they cannot release details of his arrest or charges. Bail has not been set.
Kriisa, 25, recently completed a six-year college career with stops at Arizona, West Virginia, Kentucky and Cincinnati.
On3 reported the allegations stem from his time at West Virginia during the 2023-24 season and described the case as involving a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. A court hearing is scheduled for next week, the outlet reported. The FBI has not publicly released details of the allegations in the report, but WKYT has reached out to the FBI’s Louisville bureau for more information.
The arrest comes days after Kriisa was announced as a member of La Familia, the Kentucky alumni team set to play in The Basketball Tournament. La Familia said last week that Kriisa was expected to make his debut in a best-of-three series against The Ville, a Louisville alumni squad, beginning July 18 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington.
La Familia posted on X that Kriisa will no longer be playing.
At Kentucky, Kriisa appeared in nine games during the 2024-25 season before a foot injury ended his season. He averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, and recorded a career-high 12 assists against Bucknell. He also scored eight points and had four assists against Gonzaga before the injury, and the school said he reached 1,000 career points in that game.
Kriisa averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 assists in 19 games last season at Cincinnati.
La Familia said Kriisa planned to begin his professional career in Estonia, where he is originally from, after TBT.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
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