RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion
(NYSE: D), today announced a major expansion of its solar alliance
with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Inc., an Amazon.com company, to add
180 megawatts of solar generating capacity in five Virginia counties. Construction of the
facilities will be enabled through long-term power purchase
agreements between Dominion subsidiary, Dominion Energy, Inc., and
an affiliate of Amazon's cloud computing business, AWS. The solar
facilities are expected to enter service in late 2017.
The developments announced today are expected to expand
Dominion's operating eight-state solar fleet to 1,400 megawatts by
2017, including 434 megawatts in North
Carolina and Virginia. The
company, one of the largest owners and operators of solar power in
the U.S., intends to bring online at least 500 megawatts of solar
generating capacity in the two-state area by 2020.
Dominion is acquiring four 20-megawatt projects from Virginia
Solar LLC, and will develop these facilities in Buckingham, New
Kent, Powhatan and
Sussex Counties for AWS. An
engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract has been
signed with Strata Solar for the projects. The company is also
acquiring a 100-megawatt development from Community Energy Solar
and will develop it in Southampton
County. Signal Energy will serve as the EPC contractor.
Dominion will own and operate all five facilities as part of the
Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East portfolio.
In late October, an 80-megawatt solar facility in Accomack County – also included in the
Dominion-Amazon alliance – entered service. It is the largest
operating solar farm in the mid-Atlantic region and was developed
by Community Energy Solar.
The 260 megawatts of solar capacity constituting the alliance
between the two companies would produce enough electricity to power
65,000 typical homes and businesses.
AWS has publicly shared its long-term goal to achieve 100
percent renewable energy usage for its global infrastructure, and
will exceed its goal of 40 percent renewable energy usage by the
end of 2016. AWS also set a new goal to be powered by 50 percent
renewable energy by the end of 2017. These projects
will increase renewable energy on the electrical
grid that supplies both current and future AWS data
centers.
"This alliance with Amazon Web Services will include the two
largest solar farms in the mid-Atlantic," said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and
chief executive officer of Dominion. "This solar expansion is great
for Dominion, Amazon and the Commonwealth of Virginia. It helps AWS meet its renewable
needs, it expands Virginia's clean
electric generation fleet, and it creates economic development
opportunities in largely rural communities."
"Solar energy is a central part of the comprehensive renewable
energy approach Virginia needs to
keep costs low for businesses, families and taxpayers as we build a
new Virginia economy," said
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. "I applaud Dominion and Amazon
for collaborating in a way that will benefit our economy, our
energy mix and our environment. We will continue to support
collaborations and innovative approaches to bring low-cost,
renewable energy to all corners of the Commonwealth."
"We continue to ramp our sustainability efforts in areas where
availability of renewable energy sources are low or proposed
projects are stalled, and where the energy contribution goes onto
the same electric grid that powers AWS data centers," said
Peter DeSantis, vice president,
Infrastructure, AWS. "By enabling 10 utility scale renewable
projects in the U.S. to date, we are well-positioned to meet our
latest goal of 50 percent renewable energy powering the AWS global
infrastructure by the end of 2017. That said, we are nowhere near
done. We will continue to make progress toward 100 percent and have
many exciting initiatives planned."
Dominion expects the projects to qualify for the federal
Investment Tax Credit.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and
transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,000
megawatts of generation, 14,400 miles of natural gas transmission,
gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,500 miles of electric
transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest
natural gas storage systems with 1 trillion cubic feet of storage
capacity and serves more than 6 million utility and retail energy
customers. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's
website at www.dom.com.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dominion-announces-significant-expansion-of-solar-energy-in-virginia-in-collaboration-with-amazon-300365562.html
SOURCE Dominion