Dominion Adds Batteries to the Grid

from Dominion Energy

Last week Dominion Energy announced that it energized an independent battery systems totaling 12 megawatts at the Scott Solar facility in Powhatan County. "Battery storage is an integral component to the clean energy transition in Virginia, supporting grid reliability for our customers during periods of high demand and by helping to fill gaps due to the inherent intermittency of solar and wind power," said Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia. "These battery systems will help us better understand how best to deploy utility scale batteries across our service territory to support our goal of net zero emissions by 2050."

Energy storage is key to grid reliability, continued solar and wind expansion, and achieving net zero emissions and more battery energy storage projects are under development by Dominion Energy. The company has two other battery storage pilot projects in its portfolio – a 2-megawatt battery in New Kent County that was commissioned in late February and a 2-megawatt battery in Hanover County that is scheduled to become operational later this year. All three projects were approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) in February 2020. 

The 12-megawatt battery at the Scott site can power 3,000 homes for up to four hours. The batteries are set up to charge and discharge daily. They are not designed as backup power, but are designed as supplemental power during periods of short, high-demand. These pilot projects will allow Dominion Energy to learn how to balance a grid using batteries and intermittent net zero generation.