RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC/AP) — Dominion Energy has received regulatory approval in Virginia for a series of solar projects expected to generate enough power to light up 250,000 homes. The State Corporation Commission approved the plan Tuesday.
Dominion said the projects will result in a monthly rate increase of about $1.13 for the average residential customer.
This comes just months after Virginia regulators approve a Dominion settlement that included $330 million in customer refunds. According to previous reporting by 8News, the typical residential customer would see– and might currently be seeing– a monthly bill reduction of approximately 90 cents. Rate reductions will reach a maximum of $50 million a year.
Dominion estimates the projects will also generate more than $880 million in economic benefits across Virginia and support nearly 4,200 jobs in the clean energy sector. The company plans to have the construction of the 15 new utility-owned solar and energy storage projects completed by 2023.
“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,” said Ed Baine, President of Dominion Energy Virginia in a release. “As we expand renewables across Virginia, we remain laser-focused on keeping our service affordable and reliable. These projects live up to that promise.”
Each of the proposed utility-owned projects will require local and state permits before construction can begin. A few of the projects will be taking place in the Central Virginia area, including operations in Powhatan County, Prince George County, King William County, and Chesterfield County.
Collectively, Dominion said the projects will generate nearly 1,000 megawatts of electricity. For comparison’s sake, Dominion’s nuclear-powered North Anna station generates about 1,800 megawatts.
The average output of one of the newly announced Utility-Scale Solar operations will be 51 megawatts. The solar project with the highest output will be Walnut Solar, located in King and Queen County. Adversely, the project with the lowest output will be Quillwort Solar, in Powhatan County.
This article was written with information gathered from The Associated Press.
