utilities | FFXnow

New agreement aims to protect both trees and power lines along W&OD Trail

Published February 3, 2026 at 10:05AM

A sign posted in October 2025 tells Washington & Old Dominion Trail users that Dominion Energy will replant a cleared area with native trees and shrubs as invasive species encroach (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After months of negotiations and pressure from both elected officials and community members, Dominion Energy and NOVA Parks have settled on a new path forward for managing trees near power lines along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad Regional Park.

Dominion and the regional park authority, which owns and manages the 45-mile-long W&OD Trail, have reached an agreement governing vegetation management activities that, among other provisions, requires the utility to provide advanced notice of any major maintenance work and to plant native species in affected areas when possible.

News

Facility upgrade aims to contain stink affecting Braddock Road communities

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 30, 2026 at 8:30AM

Existing Lincoln Lewis Vannoy Odor Control Facility (via Fairfax County Capital Facilities)

The Fairfax County Planning Commission has approved plans to modernize a facility used to reduce the amount of smelly — in some cases potentially lethal — hydrogen sulfide in neighborhoods near Braddock Road in the southwestern part of the county.

The unanimous vote on Wednesday (Jan. 28) paves the way for the 35-year-old Lincoln Lewis Vannoy Odor Control Facility to be replaced with more updated technology to limit unwanted smells emanating from pressure sewers in the vicinity.

News

Dominion Energy sues Trump administration for halting wind projects

By Associated Press

Published December 26, 2025 at 2:45PM

Wind turbine bases, generators and blades are positioned along with support ships at The Portsmouth Marine terminal at the staging area for Dominion Energy's wind turbine project Monday Dec. 22, 2025, in Portsmouth, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The developers of a Virginia offshore wind project are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, along with four others, over national security concerns.

Dominion Energy Virginia said in its lawsuit filed late Tuesday (Dec. 23) that the government’s order is “arbitrary and capricious” and unconstitutional. The Richmond-based company is developing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, a project it says is essential to meet dramatically growing energy needs driven by dozens of new data centers.

News

Virginia offshore wind project among those halted by Trump administration

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published December 22, 2025 at 3:45PM

Wind Turbine Installation Vessel Charybdis works to install generators for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project near Hampton Roads (via Dominion Energy)

The Trump administration on Monday suspended leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon.

Among the affected projects is Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which has been under construction about 27 miles off of the Virginia Beach coast since 2023.

Countywide

Fairfax County solidifies new rules for electrical substations as energy demand grows

By Nolan Stout

Published December 15, 2025 at 1:45PM

An electrical substation in Idylwood (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County is requiring future electrical substations to be built at least 100 feet away from residential property lines.

At its meeting last week (Dec. 9), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a zoning ordinance amendment governing substations.

News

Fairfax Water looks to replace Seven Corners water tank with bigger model

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published December 15, 2025 at 9:15AM

Existing water tank on the Seven Corners Apartments property (via Google Maps)

Fairfax Water has applied to replace an existing water tank in the Seven Corners Apartment complex (6122 Willston Drive).

The application, submitted on Nov. 24, requests that the county grant Fairfax Water the ability to replace a 75-year-old, 200,000-gallon water tank with a 1-million-gallon tank.

News

Reston Association moves to end enforcement of Lake Anne AC unit ban

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 17, 2025 at 9:15AM

A woman sits on the boardwalk facing homes along Lake Anne in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After more than a month of uncertainty, Lake Anne residents received clarity last week on their options for cooling their homes next summer.

The Reston Association (RA) Board of Directors signaled at its meeting last Thursday (Nov. 13) that it will declare the longstanding ban on individual air-conditioning units in the Reston Deed no longer in effect, starting in mid-December.

News

Lake Anne residents still awaiting clarity after cooling service shuts down

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 27, 2025 at 1:45PM

The fountain at Lake Anne in Reston (staff photo)

Two weeks after Reston RELAC announced it will cease operations, Lake Anne residents who have relied on the cooling service for decades are still looking for clearer guidance on how to prepare for next summer.

After informing customers, the owners of the utility, known formally as the Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning Corporation, sent a letter to Reston Association Chief Operating Officer Peter Lusk earlier this month stating that they “will no longer provide chilled water service,” co-owner Mark Waddell said in an Oct. 19 update.

News

Future of Lake Anne AC services in question after cooling utility folds

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2025 at 8:45AM

Waterfront homes along Lake Anne in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Reston RELAC is dead again, and this time, a resurrection might not be on the table.

Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning, the utility that provides cooling services for most Lake Anne residents, discontinued operations last Thursday (Oct. 9) following a trying summer where mechanical issues led to reported temperatures of 85 degrees and higher in some homes.

News

Electric project to power planned Lincolnia data center approved by regulator

By Charles Paullin, Inside Climate News

Published August 21, 2025 at 9:15AM

Tim Pendergrass, Ridges at Edsall HOA president, speaks at a data center rally next to the site of a proposed data center at 6295 Edsall Road (staff photo by James Jarvis)

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

RICHMOND—Bren Pointe residents in Fairfax County are closer to seeing steel transmission towers rise just outside their townhomes after Virginia’s regulators approved a new electricity line to serve a single planned commercial data center.