from the Gazette-Virginian

HIGH-TECH IGLOO – That’s what this inflatable structure appears to be, but it’s actually a drilling warehouse manufactured here by Lindstrand, USA, and bound for the north slope of Alaska. Pictured, from left, are Richard Tisch of Fairweather Exploration and Production Services, Angela Lewis of Lindstrand and Dan Gilbert of Base-X, which are cooperating in the venture. (G-V Photo/Doug Ford)

Like something out of a science fiction movie, it rises from the pavement next to the former Burlington plant in Halifax, but its final destination is the north slope of Alaska.

It may look like an igloo for a very large Eskimo, but it’s really an inflatable drilling warehouse, built here by Lindstrand, USA and bound for Prudhoe Bay, according to Richard Tisch of Fairweather Exploration and Production Services of Anchorage.

HALIFAX, VA – The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County and Dominion Virginia Power today announced plans to develop an initiative to build a pilot demonstration facility for solar power generation and battery storage. The facility would generate about 4 megawatts of power and be the largest integrated solar-battery facility in Virginia.

Solar energy holds enormous potential in Southside Virginia; however, the challenge is integrating this variable resource in a reliable way on the electric grid. Battery storage provides a means for effectively managing, storing and optimizing solar energy to regulate intermittency, enable peak shaving and increase grid reliability.

Dominion estimates that that they will invest up to $27.9 million dollars on the project and will create about 100 construction jobs to build the facility. The IDA of Halifax and Dominion submitted a $5 million grant proposal to the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission’s (TIRC) Research and Development Fund to help support the project. Dominion plans to ask the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) in Q4 2010 or Q1 2011 for permission to build the facility. If all approvals are received, the integrated solar and battery storage facility is expected to begin operating in 2012.

Steering a racing resort

An opportunity to come home put Connie Nyholm in the driver’s seat

Connie Nyholm was running her own real estate company in New York City in 1998 when she met Harvey Siegel, a shopping center developer with an odd project in mind. Siegel, a sports car enthusiast, wanted to buy a road racing track near Danville that had been closed for decades. Nyholm, a William & Mary graduate, is from Martinsville, and she had been looking for a real estate project that would bring her closer to her home. But she had never been to a racetrack before she and Siegel surveyed the overgrown expanse of Virginia International Raceway, a track that had operated from 1957 to 1974.

Siegel and Nyholm reopened the track in 2000. Today, Nyholm is managing partner of VIR, a racing resort that attracts professional and amateur drivers from around the world. The 1,200-acre property includes a motorsports country club, two hotels, 12 residential villas, an industrial park and a full-service restaurant, the Oak Tree Tavern. The track can be configured in a number of ways that allow two events to be running at the same time.

Nyholm began racing herself in a variety of cars about seven years ago. She took the past two years off but plans to return to the track this year.

Virginia Business interviewed Nyholm in Richmond where she was attending a meeting of the board of the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission. She was appointed to the board by Gov. Mark R. Warner and reappointed by his successor, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.  A full transcript of the interview is available at http://www.VirginiaBusiness.com.