Dominion Acquires Solar Energy Project on Virginia's Eastern Shore

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news and business opportunities in your inbox
Dominion Acquires Solar Energy Project on Virginia's Eastern Shore

Dominion Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Dominion, has acquired the 80 MW Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East solar facility in Virginia from project developer Community Energy, Inc.  

Construction on one of the largest announced solar facilities in the mid-Atlantic region is expected to begin later in 2015. The facility would enter service in fall 2016.

Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East is located in Accomack County near Oak Hall, Va., on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The facility's construction was enabled through a long-term power purchase agreement with an affiliate of Amazon's cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS). Interconnection agreements have also been secured with Delmarva Power. An engineering, procurement and construction contract has been signed.

AWS has publicly shared its long-term goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy usage for its global infrastructure, with a milestone goal of achieving 40 percent renewable energy usage by the end of 2016. 

This is the first project that has been approved under Virginia's permit-by-rule process for renewable energy projects with nameplate generating capacities of less than 100 megawatts. The statute streamlines the permitting process, allowing the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to issue bulk permits to construct and operate qualifying renewable energy projects.

Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dominion, stated:

"We look forward to expanding our relationship with Amazon as it seeks to increase the mix of renewable energy on the electric grid powering its data centers. This project also shows Dominion's commitment to building additional clean, renewable solar facilities in Virginia."

Brent Alderfer, president of Community Energy, Inc., developer of the project, commented:

"This ground-breaking solar project in Virginia shows what can happen when you bring together a national energy leader like Dominion and a global web services provider like Amazon Web Services with forward-looking leaders in Accomack County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. This is a model for a new solar industry in the region and nationally."

The project is expected to qualify for the federal Investment Tax Credit.

Dominion has 425 megawatts of solar generating capacity in operation or expected to enter service in 2015 in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee and Utah. Included in this portfolio is the 20-megawatt Maricopa West project in Kern County, Calif., that Dominion recently acquired from E.ON Solar. Construction is complete and the facility, which has a long-term power purchase agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric, is undergoing final testing before it becomes fully operational.

Dominion has agreed to sell a 33 percent partnership interest in that contracted solar portfolio to SunEdison, Inc. In addition, Dominion is also a 50-percent partner in two Utah projects totaling 530 megawatts. That joint venture is also with SunEdison, and the projects are expected to come online in 2016.

List of country news

Country news

  • November 18, 2015

    RES announces completion and project financing of Chicago Area Energy Storage Centers

    Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES) has announced substantial completion of the Jake Energy Storage Center and Elwood Energy Storage Center in the Chicago area, USA. Read more
  • November 18, 2015

    Invenergy inaugurates wind farm in Poland and gas-fired plant in Texas

    Invenergy has inaugurated the 37.5 MW Gorzyca Wind Farm in Darlowo and Malechowo, Poland, and the 330 MW Ector County Energy Center, a natural gas-fired power generation plant in Texas’s Permian Basin, USA. Read more
  • November 16, 2015

    Invenergy signs PPAs for Texas wind farm

    Invenergy has signed a 125 MW wind power purchase agreement (PPA) with Owens Corning to provide the insulation, roofing, and fiberglass manufacturer with renewable energy supporting their new corporate sustainability goals. Read more
  • November 13, 2015

    Project Financing closed and EPC selected for Moxie Freedom Combined Cycle Power Plant

    Moxie Energy and Caithness Energy has closed financing and selected an EPC contractor to develop the the 1000 MW Moxie Freedom gas-fired project in Pennsylvania, USA. Read more
  • November 13, 2015

    Cube Hydro Partners acquires Run-of-the-River Hydropower Facility in Pennsylvania

    Cube Hydro Partners has acquired a 100 percent ownership interest in York Haven Hydro Station located in York Haven, Pennsylvania(USA). Read more

Share this news

Join us

In order to get full access to News section, you must have a full subscription. You can check all the benefits of becoming a member and purchase a subscription on our membership page.