Dominion Energy breaks ground on renewable energy project at Dulles International Airport
Officials with Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) broke ground on the largest renewable energy project at a metropolitan airport on Monday.
The project, located at Dulles International Airport, includes solar and energy storage at the airport and is estimated to generate up to 100 megawatts (MW) of solar energy, as well as store up to 50 MW of power. The project will generate enough clean energy to power more than 37,000 Virginia homes, the company said.
“This is an exciting moment for the future of clean, reliable energy, not only for Virginia but for the entire nation,” Bob Blue, Chair, President and CEO of Dominion Energy, said. “Thanks to our strong partnership with MWAA, millions of travelers flying in and out of Dulles every year will see this powerful symbol of the clean energy transition. Just as air travelers can always count on Dulles to reach their destination, our customers can always count on us to deliver reliable and increasingly clean energy.”
The company said pairing emissions-free renewables with energy storage will add to its “all of the above” strategy to service customers reliably with increasingly clean energy.
“This groundbreaking marks the beginning of a historic achievement – a first-of-its-kind renewable energy project at a major U.S. airport,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). “I’m hopeful this partnership will serve as a model for future renewable energy projects across the country, paving the way for a greener, energy-independent future. With additional federal investments in clean energy made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, I’m confident that Virginia will continue to lead the way in innovative clean energy production.”
The partnership includes a lease agreement where instead of annual lease payments to the MWAA, Dominion Energy will develop two 1 MW solar carports to partially power Dulles facilities, as well as providing the airport with 18 electric transit buses, 50 electric fleet vehicles and electric vehicle charges stations for Dulles operations.
