Virginia, US based electricity utility Dominion Energy Virginia has proposed its largest solar and storage projects expansion to date representing more than 1 GW of carbon free electricity. It has sought clearance from the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) for this portfolio 'for the benefit of its customers'.
As part of its 2nd annual clean energy filing with the SCC, Dominion Energy has provided details of 11 utility scale, 2 distributed, 1 combined solar & storage, and another stand alone energy storage project. All of these will be owned and operated by the utility.
It added that the proposal also includes power purchase agreements (PPA) from 32 solar and energy storage projects operated by 3rd party providers selected through a competitive process.
While most of the projects in the list are already acquired by Dominion Energy, the ones it intends to acquire include 20 MW Camellia Solar and 20 MW Winterberry Solar from Strata Clean Energy, 1.6 MW Black Bear Solar and 2. MW Springfield Solar from Hexagon Energy.
There is a 20 MW/80 MWh Dry Bridge Energy Storage Facility that's expected to be the largest battery energy storage project in the Commonwealth of Virginia once its comes online in 2022, according to East Point Energy that sold the facility to Dominion Energy.
The projects are expected to add around $1.13 to a residential customer's monthly bill, but Dominion Energy claims its rates remain 'well below the national and east coast averages'.
Dominion Energy management said all the projects in the list are planned to be complete by 2023, once permits are in place from the SCC and local authorities.
In November 2020, the utility said it wants to expand solar PV capacity in its portfolio by around 500 MW (see Dominion Energy Proposes 500 MW Additional Solar Capacity).