Dominion Virginia Power will build the state’s largest rooftop solar energy installation on a distribution center in Northern Virginia.
The Richmond-based company will install more than 3,000 solar panels capable of generating more than 800 kilowatts of electricity at the Prologis Concorde Distribution Center in Sterling.
That amount of electricity will be enough to power nearly 200 homes, the utility said. Covering nearly 102,000 square feet, the panels will be installed on the rooftops of two adjacent buildings on the Prologis site.
The electricity generated in the $2.5 million project will flow to the electric grid for use by its customers, according to Dominion Virginia Power, which is the state’s largest electric utility and has nearly 2.4 million subscribers. The company is owned by Richmond-based Dominion Resources Inc.
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The Prologis installation is the first Northern Virginia project in Dominion’s Solar Partnership Program, in which the company leases rooftop or ground space at commercial, industrial and public facilities for the installation of solar panels.
“Our customers in Northern Virginia are focused on renewable energy, and this installation reflects Dominion’s commitment to understanding how solar power can fit into our generation mix,” Ken Barker, the company’s vice president of customer solutions, said in a statement Tuesday.
“The partnership with Prologis will enable us to evaluate the benefits and study the impact of distributed solar generation on our electric grid,” Barker said.
Construction is scheduled to begin this month, Dominion Virginia Power said, and the panels are expected to be operational in October.
PowerSecure Inc., a North Carolina-based company with offices in Virginia, will handle the project’s engineering, procurement and construction for Dominion Virginia Power.
“Prologis is dedicated to leading the industry in sustainable development, renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Drew Torbin, vice president of renewable energy for Prologis, said in a statement. “This project with Dominion Virginia Power supports our efforts to improve the efficiency and profitability of our partners in the region.”
Under its distributed-generation Solar Partnership Program, Dominion Virginia Power will construct and operate up to 30 megawatts of company-owned solar facilities on leased rooftops or on the grounds of commercial businesses and public properties in the company’s service area. When completed, the program will make enough power for up to 7,500 homes.
The power company has already completed large rooftop solar installations at the Canon Industrial Resource Technologies facility in Gloucester and at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
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