A utility megamerger announced this week would mean that the largest offshore wind project in the United States would be owned by the same company that already is the nation’s leading developer of renewables and battery storage.
NextEra Energy of Florida, the largest U.S. utility by market value, reached an agreement to combine with Dominion Energy of Virginia, the sixth-largest utility by market value and owner of the 2,640-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
There are many reasons to be wary when large utilities merge, as several experts told me and my colleagues Charles Paullin and Amy Green for our story on the deal. For one, the resulting company is so large and powerful that it becomes difficult to regulate, making it harder to manage consumer rates and address environmental concerns.
But having NextEra, already a huge player in onshore renewables, get into offshore wind is probably good for U.S. offshore wind at a time when the Trump administration is opposing the industry at almost every turn.
The company would have a larger market value than any U.S. energy company other than the two oil giants, ExxonMobil and Chevron, based on current values.
