Dominion Virginia Power, a subsidiary of energy producer and transporter Dominion, is committed to bringing 400MW of solar energy to its customers through 2020. The company recently announced completions of three large-scale solar facilities in Virginia and will add 56MW of solar power plants to its portfolio.
"We have made tremendous progress since we received all necessary regulatory approvals from state and local jurisdictions," said Ruth Prideaux, director-Generation Projects Renewable Energy. "Our contractor, Amec Foster Wheeler, hired the best workers in the industry and reached out to include local hires, giving them the opportunity to grow their skills even more."
The constructions created more than 800 jobs for local communities – Isle of Wight, Louisa and Powhatan. During the construction phase, the Commonwealth is expected to see a cumulative economic impact of US$74 million from the 2015 planning phase to the completion of the projects.
The three projects are: the 19MW Isle of Wight project, the 20MW Louisa project, and the 17MW Powhatan project. They will collectively provide enough power for approximately 14,000 homes.
To achieve the 400MW solar target, Dominion Virginia Power is planning more solar projects, such as the 20MW Remington Solar Facility in Fauquier County, and the 17.6MW Oceana Solar Facility in the City of Virginia Beach. Commonwealth of Virginia will take part in both projects and Microsoft and the Department of Navy will also be respectively engaged in.