Dominion Energy Virginia to install four battery storage pilot projects
Dominion Energy Virginia announced Tuesday that it received approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to install four battery storage pilot projects totaling 16 megawatts (MW).
The company noted that the projects will support its commitment to achieving net zero carbon and methane emissions by 2050.
“Dominion Energy will pilot these 16 megawatts of battery storage to better understand how best to deploy batteries across our system to integrate renewables and provide grid reliability by filling gaps due to the inherent intermittency of solar and wind power,” Mark D. Mitchell, Dominion Energy’s vice president of generation construction, said. “These pilot projects will also help us learn how to incorporate this emerging technology into our overall strategy to achieve net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions.”
Construction of the four projects will cost approximately $33 million. The company expects that the projects will begin operation in the first quarter of 2021. Once operational, they will be evaluated over five years.
The company will install two battery systems totaling 12 MW at the Scott Solar facility in Powhatan County, a 2-MW battery at a substation in Ashland in Hanover County, and a 2-MW battery at a substation in New Kent County.
Dominion Energy noted that the projects are enabled by the Grid Transformation & Security Act of 2018, which allows the company to invest in up to 30 MW of battery storage pilot projects.
