Dominion Energy Virginia
Photo by Brookhaven National Laboratory’s photostream
Highlights
- Developed sustainable models for solar deployment that will benefit Virginians and others throughout the Southeast.
- Assessed existing solar programs for wider scale deployment and performed technical engineering and business planning studies to identify PV integration impacts across generation, transmission, and distribution systems.
- Produced an economic study of utility-administered solar, which included an evaluation of the impacts of tax policy on solar deployment and an assessment of soft cost reduction opportunities.
- Created a solar workforce development strategy.
Background
Dominion Energy Virginia is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,400 MW of generation; 15,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering, and storage pipeline; and 6,600 miles of electric transmission lines. With one trillion cubic feet of storage capacity, Dominion operates one of the nation’s largest natural gas storage systems and serves more than six million utility and retail energy customers.
Currently, Dominion has approximately 994 MW of solar capacity operating or under construction in Virginia and North Carolina. Dominion has several solar programs in Virginia, including a solar purchase program, a solar partnership program, and a net metering program. It is also developing a utility-administered community solar program.
Through the Virginia Solar Pathways Project, Dominion has been identifying opportunities and challenges to expand solar energy programs; examining technical, economic, and programmatic considerations; and creating a statewide strategy for Virginia.
Stakeholder Process
To craft this strategy, Dominion worked closely with a group of stakeholders and partners including advisors from Old Dominion University; Virginia’s Community College System; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL); Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy; the City of Virginia Beach; Bay Electric Co, Inc.; and the Metro Washington Council of Governments.
The advisory team participated in four training sessions in the spring of 2015 to help develop a common understanding of the electric grid, the distribution system, the economics of solar, and soft costs. Advisors received basic training in the areas of transmission and distribution grids, generation resources and technologies, solar program models, market and regulatory issues affecting deployment, and the current status of solar in Dominion’s service territory. The advisory team helped review and guide the project’s four technical studies and developed a consensus framework. The training modules established a common foundation of technical and regulatory understanding for the project’s advisory team.
Resources
Module I: Electric Industry Background Module I: Electric Industry Background
This presentation provides an introduction to electric power and the electric utility industry.
Module II: Generation Overview Module II: Generation Overview
This presentation focuses on technologies for electricity generation and how the utility acquires the generation resources needed to meet demand.
Module III: Transmission and Distribution Module III: Transmission and Distribution
This presentation explains the components of the transmission and distribution systems and how they are operated.
Module IV. Policy, Regulatory and Rates Overview Module IV. Policy, Regulatory and Rates Overview
This presentation summarizes the policy and regulatory framework governing electric utilities
Photovoltaic Systems Photovoltaic Systems
A presentation provided to Virginia stakeholders as an introduction to the concept of solar PV.
Solar Integration Studies
To guide their decisions and facilitate the system-wide integration of solar generation, Dominion commissioned a series of studies:
Solar PV Integration Study 1: Interconnection Practices and Distribution ... Solar PV Integration Study 1: Interconnection Practices and Distribution System Impacts
This study provides a roadmap for the utility to safely and reliably integrate increasing amounts of distributed generation solar into the distribution system
Solar PV Integration Study 2: Generation and Transmission System ... Solar PV Integration Study 2: Generation and Transmission System Impacts
This study examines how greater quantities of residential and utility-scale solar PV interact with the existing electric generation portfolio.
Economic Study of Utility-Administered Solar Programs Economic Study of Utility-Administered Solar Programs
This study evaluates opportunities to reduce soft costs of solar generation, including acquisition and financing.
1. The potential for soft cost reductions through utility-administered solar,
2. Utility involvement in community solar development in the Southeast, and
3. The financial impacts of tax normalization policy on utility-led solar development.
Community Shared Solar in Real Life Community Shared Solar in Real Life
Scan of existing community solar programs across the country to provide insight into existing program design, program performance, and the customer experience
Developing the Virginia Solar Pathways Strategy
Guided by the conclusions and findings of the comprehensive studies, the Dominion team will be working in 2017 to develop their statewide strategy and utility-administered community solar program. The project team will also work with the Core Advisory Team and their community college partners to develop a solar workforce development strategy for the Commonwealth.