Virginia's Solar Market Flourishes with $12 Billion in Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) is among a slew of companies proposing a widespread buildout of solar energy in Virginia. Earlier this week, the largest utility company in Virginia proposed more than a dozen projects that would have a total output of more than 770 megawatts (MW) within its home state, and other major renewable-energy developers like AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington County, Virginia), RWE AG (Essen, Germany) and Strata Clean Energy LLC (Durham, North Carolina) are staking out land. Industrial Info is tracking more than $12 billion worth of active and planned solar projects across Virginia, nearly half of which is attributed to projects with a medium-to-high likelihood (70% or more) of starting construction as currently planned.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for active and planned solar projects across Virginia, by total investment value.

Dominion says that if its latest round of proposed projects is approved, its total solar output in Virginia would exceed 4.6 gigawatts (GW). The company already has a pair of projects slated to begin construction before the end of the year: the $35 million Kings Creek Solar Plant in Williamsburg and the $35 million North Ridge Solar Plant in Powhatan, each of which is expected to generate 20 MW from 41,667 photovoltaic (PV) panels provided by First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read detailed reports on the Kings Creek and North Ridge projects.

More than 40% of Dominion's solar projects in Virginia are in their planning stages and set to begin construction in 2024, although their nascent status means numerous factors could delay, alter or eliminate any potential investment, according to Industrial Info's GMI database. These include the Laurel Branch Solar project in Kenbridge and the County Line Solar project in Emporia, which are designed to generate 80 and 86 MW, respectively. If both projects begin construction as currently scheduled, they could wrap up as early as third-quarter 2024. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Laurel Branch and County Line projects.

Both projects have notched up progress in the past year. Virginia's Lunenburg County Planning Commission held hearings on the Laurel Branch project earlier this year, and the Greensville County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the application for the County Line project in December. The latter was a surprisingly positive result, as the same board had voted down two other solar projects in the months beforehand, according to the Emporia Independent Messenger.

Other solar projects in their early development phases across Virginia include RWE's Baker Ponds Solar Plant near Prince George, which would generate 100 MW and include a 20-MW battery energy-storage system (BESS), and AES Corporation's 100-MW Fitch Solar Plant in Bealeton. Both companies have completed solar-generation projects in Virginia within the past year: RWE's Watlington Solar Plant in South Boston and Pleasant Hill Solar Plant in Suffolk, each of which generates 20 MW, and AES' Skipjack Solar Plant in Charles City, which has a design capacity of 320 MW. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Baker Ponds and Fitch projects, and read detailed profiles for the Watlington, Pleasant Hill and Skipjack plants.

Earlier this year, RWE and Dominion agreed to a series of long-term, utility-scale power-purchase agreements (PPAs) for more than 300 MW of solar energy across Virginia. For more information, see Industrial Info's July 20, 2023, article - Dominion, RWE Ink Deal to Boost Solar's Role in Virginia.

Other projects currently slated to finish construction toward the end of 2023 include Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated's (NYSE:BEPC) (Toronto, Canada) $150 million solar project in Crystal Hill, which would generate 65 MW from PV panels provided by Hanwha Q Cells (Seoul, South Korea). Energix US LLC, a subsidiary of Alony Hetz Properties and Investments Limited (Ramat-Gan, Israel), expects to wrap up its $15 million Apple Grove Solar Plant in Mineral in the coming months, which would add 15 MW to the state's grid. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Crystal Hill and Apple Grove projects.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned solar projects across Virginia.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).