Dominion Acquires 50 Percent Interest In West Virginia Wind-Power Facility
RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation’s
largest energy producers, announced Monday that it will acquire a 50 percent
interest in a wind-turbine facility being developed by a subsidiary of Royal
Dutch Shell plc in Grant County, West Virginia.
Under terms of the agreement, Dominion will
enter a joint venture agreement with Shell WindEnergy Inc. to develop the first
phase of a wind facility near Dominion’s Mt. Storm Power Station that
will produce 164 megawatts of electricity.
All regulatory and environmental permits required
to begin construction are in place. Also completed is the transmission
interconnection application and approval process with the PJM wholesale power
market.
Tom Farrell, president
and chief executive officer, said: "This is a
great opportunity for Dominion to increase its renewable energy portfolio as
the industry looks for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our venture
into the wind-energy market is another step we are taking to improve the region’s
environment. Emission-free generation produced by these wind turbines is a
good fit with our other renewable and traditional generation sources. We
are also pleased that this will contribute to the tax base of Grant County."
The
project will consist of 82 wind turbines producing 2 megawatts each. The
turbines will be constructed on the Allegheny Front, which has an average elevation
of 3,100 feet at the project site. The region around Dominion’s Mt. Storm
Power Station has been identified as one of the best wind turbine locations
on the East Coast.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with a portfolio of about 28,000 megawatts of generation, about 6.6 trillion
cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,800 miles of natural
gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates one of the nation's largest
underground natural gas storage systems with about 950 billion cubic feet of
storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more
information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com.
