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In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office awarded Dominion Energy a grant of $33.7 million to help make the state’s electrical grid more efficient. The funds, provided through the department’s $3.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program, will support increasing battery storage capacity in rural communities and facilitating[...]
Clarke County limits solar development
Clarke County prioritizes agriculture. That’s what drives most of its policy-making as the county navigates the complexities of renewable energy development while preserving its farmland, explains County Administrator Chris Boies. In January, the county’s Board of Supervisors approved new regulations for utility-scale solar projects. Boies says the ordinance has always required solar p[...]
Dominion pitches new solar projects to SCC
Dominion Energy is pitching the State Corporation Commission on several solar projects that could generate enough carbon-free electricity to power nearly 200,000 homes. The projects, presented in the Fortune 500 utility‘s fourth annual clean energy filing with the state, include six solar projects totaling 337 megawatts and 13 power purchase agreements totaling 435 megawatts with […]
Dominion, Dulles solar project to power 37,000 Va. homes
A massive solar project that will soon begin to take shape at Washington Dulles International Airport will not only have the ability to power 37,000 Virginia homes, but will also send a message to travelers about the power of clean energy, officials said Tuesday during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the 835-acre Dulles Solar and Storage project. […]
Balance of power
Chris Rawlings was a mechanic who wanted to be a pilot. He left the Marine Corps in 2008 after deploying twice to Iraq, where he supervised an aircraft maintenance team, going on to perform similar duties as a civilian contractor in a hangar at Fort Eustis. But his plan was to get back into the […]
Dominion proposes new solar, storage projects
Dominion Energy Virginia has proposed 23 new solar and energy storage projects that could power more than 200,000 Virginia homes at peak output. The utility provider proposed the projects in its third annual clean energy filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission on Friday. If approved, they will provide more than 800 megawatts of carbon-free […]
Charlotte County approves Va.’s largest solar farm
The largest solar project in Charlotte County — and Virginia, according to Dominion Energy Inc. — was approved by the county’s Board of Supervisors in July. Reston-based utility-scale solar developer SolUnesco LLC received a conditional-use permit to build the $800 million to $1.6 billion Randolph Solar project in the southern part of the county. SolUnesco […]
Accelerating the solar workforce
When local school systems decided to add solar arrays to their buildings, regional environmental nonprofit Appalachian Voices and other members of the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia counted it as a victory in their six-year efforts to develop a renewable energy cluster in Virginia’s coalfield counties. In January, Southwest Virginia Community College and Mountain Empire […]
Frederick solar farms move forward
Frederick County is on the verge of seeing its first solar power farms. Three facilities are in the works, with another in the pipeline. That’s not to say Virginia’s northernmost county is exactly embracing fields of solar panels. “Solar farms change the character of the land from rolling fields and animals grazing in pastures to […]
Clean slate
On April 17, 2020, with a flourish of the pen, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam reshaped the future of energy production in the commonwealth. Signing the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) into law last year, Northam declared that Virginia would become a leader in fighting climate change, and, indeed, no other Southern state has passed legislation […]
(Solar) powering the economy
A 700-acre solar farm on a former surface mine outside of Hurley will be more than it appears, according to Adam Edelen. “Buchanan County and the entire region of Southwestern Virginia intends to benefit from the digital economy rather than be a victim of it,” says Edelen, CEO of Edelen Renewables. Based in Lexington, Kentucky, Edelen’s […]
SCC approves nine solar farms to provide power for Dominion
On April 30, the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved nine major solar farms, which have the potential to generate nearly 500 megawatts and power 125,000 homes for Virginia customers of Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility Dominion Energy Inc. “This is another major step forward in building a clean energy economy in Virginia,” said Ed Baine, president of Dominion […]
