Renewable Energy and Green Power

Electric Generation

Renewable energy is an important part of Dominion's plan to meet the ever-growing need for electricity. Visit our section on renewable energy to learn more about our initiatives.

In Virginia, Dominion is committed to meeting a voluntary goal of 15 percent of base year electricity energy sales from renewable energy sources by 2025 and North Carolina’s mandatory goal of 12.5 percent from renewable energy sources by 2021. The company also provides voluntary Green Power programs in Virginia and North Carolina which ensure that its electric distribution customers have the option to support the production and development of renewable power if they wish to purchase it.

Dominion is increasing investments in renewable energy to:  1) meet renewable goals and requirements in Virginia and North Carolina, 2) bring greater diversity to our power supplies, and 3) reduce our carbon intensity.  Dominion supports and will pursue renewable energy options that are feasible and prudent investments for our customers and shareholders.

Dominion’s renewable portfolio includes nearly 1,500 MW under development, in construction or in operation.  Of this total, approximately 1,000 MW is wind generation.  Major facilities include the following:

• A 50 percent interest in the 264 MW Mount Storm Wind Farm in Grant County, West Virginia.  Dominion’s partner in this project is Shell WindEnergy.  This wind farm is operational and is connected to the PJM grid.
• 50 percent interest in the 300 MW Phase I Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in operation in Benton County, Indiana.  Dominion’s partner for this project is BP Alternative Energy North America Inc.  This wind farm is connected to the PJM grid.
• 50 percent interest in up to 490 MW of Virginia wind projects which are expected to be developed within our Virginia public utility.  Dominion’s partner for these projects is BP Alternative Energy North America Inc.
• The 300 MW Prairie Fork Wind Farm under development in Central Illinois which is expected to be connected to the PJM grid.  This project is in the early stages of development. 
• The 225 MW Gaston Hydro Station operating in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina which is a large hydroelectric power station within our North Carolina public utility.
• The 83 MW Pittsylvania Power Station in Hurt, Virginia, which is one of the largest biomass-fueled generators on the East Coast.
• Up to a potential of 117 MW of biomass energy at the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center currently under construction in southwest Virginia and within our Virginia public utility.

In addition to these owned resources, Dominion has long-term contracts to purchase renewable energy for resale from various renewable generators throughout Virginia, including generators who make hydroelectric energy and energy from the combustion of wood and wood waste (i.e., biomass), combustion of landfill gas and combustion of municipal solid waste.

In 2009, Dominion also announced the formation of the Alternative Energy Solutions unit. The unit will provide technology research to support Dominion business units, identify business opportunities, participate in the nation's energy policy development process, and provide an information- and idea-sharing forum within the company on conservation and load management and renewables.  The Alternative Energy Solutions unit will research new technologies including, but not limited to, "smart grid" technologies, distributed generation, hybrid vehicles, and electric storage technology. The unit will also study new technologies related to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, biomass and geothermal.

In addition to incorporating environmentally friendly generation projects into our mix of power supply, Dominion offers our customers in Virginia and North Carolina the opportunity to preferentially support green power options. Since October 2003, Dominion North Carolina Power customers have been able to participate in the NC GreenPower program, contributing to the development and promotion of cleaner power from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, small hydroelectric and biomass, by paying a premium on their bill.

In Virginia, the Dominion Green Power program launched January 1, 2009 which allows customers to voluntarily support the production and development of electricity generated from renewable sources. This program offers a convenient and cost effective option for customers to match all or part of their electrical usage with renewable energy.

Dominion supported the Virginia General Assembly's passage of legislation to re-regulate the state's electricity industry. As part of that legislation, Virginia passed a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to encourage the development of renewable energy in the Commonwealth. In support of this standard, Dominion Virginia Power is developing plans to increase the amount of renewable energy provided to customers based on the following schedule that Dominion will be striving to achieve.

In Virginia, renewable energy is defined as energy derived from sunlight, wind, falling water, biomass, energy from waste, wave motion, tides and geothermal power and does not include energy derived from coal, oil, natural gas, pumped storage hydro, or nuclear.

Dominion also supported North Carolina's renewable energy and energy efficiency legislation which was passed in the summer of 2007. This requires that Dominion North Carolina Power sales in North Carolina in 2021 come from renewable energy sources according to the following schedule.

In North Carolina, eligible energy resources include solar, wind, small hydroelectric, wave energy, tidal energy, biomass, and landfill gas.

Dominion is also a retail electricity supplier in a number of states that have requirements that address renewable energy, and thus provides customers in those states with renewable energy.

Dominion's renewable energy initiatives also support Virginia's participation in the EPA's Clean Energy-Environment State Partnership.