Headshot of Virginia Mercury reporter, Shannon Heckt.

Shannon Heckt

[email protected]

Shannon Heckt is an energy and environment reporter for the Virginia Mercury and is based in Richmond. She has seven years of reporting experience in Nebraska and Louisiana. Her previous experience is in the broadcast industry where she worked for several television stations. She is well known for her coverage of the Louisiana Legislature and disaster recovery. Shannon is a proud graduate of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. She's excited to call Virginia home and explore all it has to offer.

Goochland residents rebuff data center developer Tract ahead of permit application
Virginia

Goochland residents rebuff data center developer Tract ahead of permit application

5:13am ET
Shannon Heckt
On Thursday evening, dozens of Goochland residents donned red t-shirts and held signs that spelled out their displeasure with the idea of multiple data centers being built in the county’s technology overlay district that butts up against Mosaic, a 55+...
DEQ asks Virginians how to best engage environmental justice communities during permitting process
Virginia

DEQ asks Virginians how to best engage environmental justice communities during permitting process

Jul 24, 2026
Shannon Heckt
When the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality reviews permits for proposed projects that would impact water, air, or land, the agency must consider whether projects would be in or near environmental justice communities, areas that are low-income or whose residents...
Lawmakers call for special session to debate Dominion-NextEra merger
Virginia

Lawmakers call for special session to debate Dominion-NextEra merger

Jul 21, 2026
Shannon Heckt
As the State Corporation Commission prepares to begin a months-long review of the potential merger of Virginia’s largest electric utility company Dominion Energy and the Florida-based NextEra Energy, two Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday urged Gov. Abigail Spanberger to host...
Data centers want to build their own gas turbines. Would that skirt state renewable energy laws?
Virginia

Data centers want to build their own gas turbines. Would that skirt state renewable energy laws?

Jul 20, 2026
Shannon Heckt
Virginia’s surging energy demands require more power generation infrastructure to be built, a slow process that’s delaying new data centers waiting to be connected to the grid. Dominion Energy, the state’s largest utility, has an estimated 70 gigawatts worth of...
Clock starts for state regulators to review proposed Dominion-NexEra merger
Virginia

Clock starts for state regulators to review proposed Dominion-NextEra merger

Jul 16, 2026
Shannon Heckt
Dominion Energy on Wednesday submitted their official arguments to the State Corporation Commission to allow the utility to merge with the Florida-based NextEra. The utilities plan to combine, creating an East Coast energy titan. The all-stock deal is valued at...
SCC considers making data centers shoulder more of the cost of transmission lines
Virginia

SCC considers making data centers shoulder more of the cost of transmission lines

Jul 15, 2026
Shannon Heckt
Consumer advocates have joined Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration to argue that high-load customers like data centers should pay for the high-voltage lines that solely serve them, a stance now playing out as part of Dominion Energy’s case with state regulators...
Virginia joins rooftop solar initiative to help residents trim electric bills
Virginia

Virginia joins rooftop solar initiative to help residents trim electric bills

Jul 13, 2026
Shannon Heckt
On Monday, Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced that Virginia is partnering with the nonprofit Switch Together to help bring down the cost of solar array purchases for homeowners who want to install them on their homes. The governor framed the move...
Officials push for transparency on testing around Shoosmith Landfill
Virginia

Officials push for transparency on testing around Shoosmith Landfill

Jul 10, 2026
Shannon Heckt
Local, state, and federal officials held a closed-door meeting on July 1 to discuss the next steps for managing Shoosmith Landfill in Chesterfield, which is leaking 50,000 gallons a day of toxic leachate and is poised to spur an “environmental...
Prince William supervisors reject Dulles Cloud South data center proposal
Virginia

Prince William supervisors reject Dulles Cloud South data center proposal

Jul 09, 2026
Shannon Heckt
Prince William County supervisors voted against a rezoning proposal for the Dulles Cloud South data center project Tuesday, less than a week after developers retreated from a legal battle over building the 1,760-acre Digital Gateway data center complex in the...
Va. Lt. Gov. Hashmi calls on regulators to extend review period for NextEra-Dominion Energy merger
Virginia

Va. Lt. Gov. Hashmi calls on regulators to extend review period for NextEra-Dominion Energy merger

Jul 07, 2026
Shannon Heckt
In a letter sent to the State Corporation Commission this week, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi urged the commissioners to more closely scrutinize the planned merger of Dominion Energy , the commonwealth’s largest electric utility provider, and Florida-based NextEra Energy. If...
How Virginia became the world’s data center capital and how it’s going
Virginia

How Virginia became the world’s data center capital and how it’s going

Jul 06, 2026
Nathaniel Cline Shannon Heckt
Demand for internet access and electronic storage has grown alongside digital technology itself. At the center of that growth are the energy infrastructure and data centers that governments and companies began developing in Northern Virginia in the late 20th century...
After years of effort, Chesapeake Bay-specific menhaden population study gets funding
Virginia

After years of effort, Chesapeake Bay-specific menhaden population study gets funding

Jul 01, 2026
Shannon Heckt
With new state dollars granted by the General Assembly by way of a budget amendment from Gov. Abigail Spanberger, scientists and lawmakers plan to examine the menhaden population inside the Chesapeake Bay, the culmination of years of legislative efforts. The...