Virginia-headquartered energy utility Dominion Energy has filed a proposal with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) for 772MW worth of solar PV capacity in the state.
The proposal includes six projects that would be either owned or acquired by Dominion itself, totalling 337MW, as well as 13 power purchase agreements (PPA) totalling 435MW with independently-owned solar projects.
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The six projects that Dominion would own range in size from 3MW to 127MW and construction is expected to be completed between 2024-26 depending on SCC approval and local and state permitting. These can be found below:
- 3MW Alberta Solar, in Brunswick County
- 57MW Beldale Solar, in Powhatan County
- 95MW Blue Ridge Solar, in Pittsylvania County
- 127MW Bookers Mill Solar, in Richmond County
- 50MW Michaux Solar, in Henry & Pittsylvania County
- 5MW Peppertown Solar, in Hanover County
“These projects support our ongoing efforts to deliver reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy to our customers,” said Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia. “They will also bring jobs and economic benefits to communities across the Commonwealth.”
If these projects are approved they will bring Dominion’s solar portfolio in Virginia past 4.6GW. In July, the utility signed a cluster of PPAs with German energy company RWE for 266MW worth of PV in the state
The last time Dominion went to the SCC for approvals, it received favourable hearing on 800MW worth of solar and storage capacity across two dozen projects in Virginia.
Dominion said that these new projects are expected to add US$1.54 to the average residential monthly bill, as utilities often recoup the expense of their large-scale investments via rate base changes.
Virginia is the fourth largest solar PV market in the US by installed capacity, according to a recent report from the Berkeley Lab. One of the states in the PJM Interconnection, a study by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) found that Virginia’s 43.7GW renewables and storage interconnection backlog could represent a US$8.52 billion investment opportunity. It is the largest figure of any PJM state, with the Interconnection’s total backlog touted to be worth US$33 billion.
