Dominion Energy Virginia issued a pair of RFPs for smaller-scale projects to help lower its customers’ carbon footprint.
The Community Solar and Small Scale Solar RFPs will help the company meet its target of having 3,000 MW of new solar and wind energy in operation or under development by 2022 in Virginia. The company has committed to cut carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 across the 18 states it serves.
The first RFP continues the development of the company’s Community Solar Pilot program. The voluntary program allows customers to purchase energy from new solar facilities located in communities throughout Dominion Energy Virginia’s service territory.
The second RFP encourages the development of solar installations up to one megawatt in capacity, including rooftop installations with a capacity of at least 50 kilowatts. Both RFPs seek third-party developers to build projects within Dominion Energy Virginia’s transmission and distribution footprint.
The solar expansion is enabled by the Grid Transformation & Security Act of 2018. The landmark legislation supports a dramatic expansion of small and large-scale renewable energy projects. It calls for 500 MW of solar energy from projects of 1 MW or less, 50 MW of rooftop solar from projects of at least 50 kW, and for one-quarter of the projects to be owned by a third-party. The legislation also provides the framework to transform the energy grid to allow better integration of renewable energy resources while ensuring safe, reliable and affordable service to customers.
The company also plans to issue another RFP in July for large scale solar projects as part of its commitment to have 3,000 MW in service or under development by the 2022.
News item from Dominion Energy
Solarman says
It seems like the utilities are now beginning to embrace the concept of distributed generation as the future of the grid as a whole. The mega power solar PV installations of days gone by seem to be dwindling and smaller systems with energy storage seems to be the new normal. Manufacturing, big box stores and warehouses are particularly good places to put generation that will be used by the facility where it is generated. Storage just allows more self consumption during the day and also allows the utility to store electricity at night in the energy storage system of the business for arbitrage purposes.
The article says: “The Community Solar and Small Scale Solar RFPs will help the company meet its target of having 3,000 MW of new solar and wind energy in operation or under development by 2022 in Virginia. The company has committed to cut carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 across the 18 states it serves.”
Dominion Energy is filling it’s RPS and keeping the actual solar PV systems for themselves. The old business model dies hard. The utility ‘owns’ the generation asset no matter where it is installed.