Dominion Energy Virginia Eyes 12 GW of Solar

In its 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission, Dominion Energy Virginia laid out portfolio options to meet rising power demand through investments in new power generation. 

The IRP is not a request to build any specific project, but instead a long-term planning document based on current technology, market information and load projections. The company says 80% of the plan’s incremental power generation over the next 15 years is carbon-free, including:

12,000 MW of new solar.
3,400 MW of new offshore wind in addition to the 2,600 MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project currently under development.
4,500 MW of new battery storage.
Small modular nuclear reactors beginning in the mid-2030s.

The IRP is based on a forecast developed by PJM, which projects that power demand within the company’s delivery zone is forecasted to grow 5.5% annually for the next decade and to double by 2039.

“We are experiencing the largest growth in power demand since the years following World War II,” says Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia. 

“No single energy source, grid solution or energy efficiency program will reliably serve the growing needs of our customers. We need an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach, and we are developing innovative solutions to ensure we deliver for our customers. I am proud of the affordability we deliver, with residential rates 14% below the national average, and as shown in the plan we intend to continue that focus. Our comprehensive plan ensures we can always deliver reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy day or night, rain or shine, winter or summer.”

In a separate filing with the SCC, Dominion Energy proposed 1,000 MW of new solar projects in Virginia.