Dominion Energy proposes more than 1,000 MW of new solar, energy storage projects

As part of its second annual clean energy filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), Dominion Energy Virginia last week proposed more than 1,000 MW of new solar and energy storage projects for the state — the largest clean energy expansion from Dominion to date.

“Every day, the clean energy economy is becoming more of a reality in Virginia,” Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said. “This is the largest expansion of solar and energy storage in Virginia history and a major leap forward in delivering clean energy to our customers. As we expand renewables across Virginia, we remain laser-focused on keeping our service affordable and reliable. These projects live up to that promise.”

Consisting of 11 utility-scale solar projects, two small-scale distributed solar projects, one combined solar and storage project, along with one stand-alone energy storage project, the expansion represents enough power capacity owned and operated by Dominion to run more than 250,000 homes. In addition, the proposal incorporated 32 competitively-selected solar and energy storage project power purchase agreements that would be run by third-party providers.

The largest would be the Dulles Solar and Storage facility, to be built in Loudoun County to supply 100 MW of solar and 50 MW of storage. The smallest would be the 2 MW Springfield Solar project in Westmoreland County, which Dominion intends to acquire from Hexagon Energy.

All of this would come with a slight bill increase for customers, though, amounting to approximately $1.13 per monthly bill for the average residential customer. That is supposing the proposed constructions and acquisitions meet with SCC, local and state approval, though. If so, both the distributed solar projects and the stand-alone energy storage project are expected to be completed in 2022. The remainder would likely be finished in 2023.

While bringing cleaner energy to Dominion’s customers, the effort would also advance the goals of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which calls for all electricity sales in-state to come from clean energy sources by 2045. The company also projects construction of the 15 utility-owned solar and energy storage projects could bring more than $880 million in economic benefits to Virginia.