Governor Terry McAuliffe was on hand to help install the last solar panel at Dominion Energy’s newest solar power facility in Northern Virginia.
Located on a 125-acre parcel at 12080 Lucky Hill Road in Remington, the facility will add 20-megawatts of solar energy to Virginia’s power grid, according to a release.
The site has 236,000 American-made solar panels.
“The Remington Solar Power facility is an innovative public-private partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia, Microsoft, and Dominion Energy to support the growth of renewable energy in the Commonwealth,” stated a release.
According to Dominion Energy’s Power Generation Group Executive Vice President and President Paul Koonce, the solar panel facility will generate enough energy to power 5,000 homes and businesses.
“It’s a win for everyone, it supports Virginia’s energy plan, and it’s drive for cleaner air,” said Koonce.
McAuliffe spoke about the increase in solar power projects during the past four years, primarily which fall under his tenure.
“Today in Virginia…we now have 2,600 megawatts either installed or under construction here in the Commonwealth of Virginia…we have to do this if we’re going to attract those 21st century companies, we’ve got to be able to offer them renewable energy,” said McAuliffe.
For this facility in particular, the Commonwealth will buy the solar power energy from Dominion, and Microsoft will “purchase the renewable energy certificates in support of its sustainability goals,” stated a release.
“Our customers have told us in no uncertain terms that they want renewables; that they want cleaner and greener energy. Specifically, they want solar power. Well, we hear them, and we’re responding – all over the Commonwealth. And the Remington Solar Generation facility is the direct product of our interface with our customers,” stated Dominion Energy Media and Community Relations Manager Chuck Penn in an email.
We were also sent an op-ed piece authored by Koonce, which we’ve included below:
Dominion Energy customers want cleaner, greener forms of energy and they want it to be affordable and reliable too. In particular, “more solar” is something we hear quite often in focus groups, surveys and everyday interactions with customers.
Dominion Energy is definitely answering this call for more emissions-free solar in Virginia. And we’re finding unique ways to make solar work for all customers, both big and small.
The new Remington Solar generation facility in Fauquier County is a great example. Last week Gov. Terry McAuliffe set the last solar panel in place at the 125-acre facility – dedicating the largest solar generation facility of its kind in the region.
Now energized, it will deliver enough energy onto the grid to power 5,000 Virginia homes when the sun is shining. And it won’t cost ratepayers a penny because of a public-private partnership forged with the Commonwealth of Virginia and Microsoft to meet their needs for renewable energy.
Remington Solar is just one of the creative ways we are working to help our customers meet their renewable energy goals. Over the last two years, Dominion Energy has invested nearly $1 billion to add large-scale “universal” solar generation, which is delivered onto the grid for use by all electric customers. Just two years ago, we had four solar projects in Virginia generating 1 megawatt of power. We now have 27 solar projects built or under development (444 megawatts), with much more coming down the pike to serve a new Facebook data center coming to Richmond.
By 2042, we plan to have enough solar to serve 1.3 million homes at peak power. The shift is being driven by lower costs, better technologies and our commitment to deliver the cleaner power sources that our customers want.
As far as costs go, construction costs per megawatt-hour have decreased for universal solar facilities by 90 percent in the past five years. When coupled with a 24/7 energy source such as nuclear or combined-cycle natural gas, solar is now a more reliable and cost-effective form of generation.
One of our goals is to make sure that clean, renewable energy is available to more Virginians.
So we are working on programs that will offer solar energy to any business or residential customer who wants it—through a variety of options tailored to meet their needs. Customers will be able to choose to have solar energy meet some or all of their energy needs, without having to pay large, up-front costs to purchase and install solar panels and related systems at their home or business.
Going solar can be a major financial commitment, but with these new options we are proposing, Dominion Energy will make clean, renewable energy a lot more accessible to more people. Our aim is to give our customers the cleaner, greener energy options they’ve been asking for, while lowering emissions and keeping costs down for all.
Paul Koonce
Executive Vice President, Dominion Energy
President & CEO, Power Generation Group
