Electric companies team up on Virginia energy storage partnership
By Kim Riley
Daily Energy Insider
Goals for storing renewable energy in the Commonwealth of Virginia this week led Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy to forge a public-private partnership with InvestSWVA, a marketing campaign sponsored by the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission.
The aim of the partnership is to advance energy storage technology by focusing on research, development, manufacturing, and deployment that also could attract industry prospects to Southwest Virginia, the state’s energy corridor.
“Energy has been central to Southwest Virginia’s past, and this announcement shows how important it will be to Southwest Virginia’s future as well,” said U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), who represents Virginia’s 9th congressional district covering a large swath of southwestern Virginia. “Energy storage technology can make use of our existing assets to create jobs and power industries in the region.”
Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Energy, which serves seven million gas and electricity customers in 20 states, plans to build the largest offshore wind project in North America off the coast of Virginia Beach and seeks innovative ways to store the renewable energy it produces to maintain reliable service, according to Dominion Energy Virginia President Ed Baine.
Additionally, Dominion soon will start construction on four central Virginia energy storage projects recently approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
“With the greater proliferation of renewables, energy storage expansion will be a vital component in providing stability to our grid and support our customer’s needs,” Baine said on Oct. 13.
Appalachian Power, which is part of the investor-owned American Electric Power, serves one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. The company also operates its Smith Mountain pumped storage facility, which holds water to harness as-needed energy, said Chris Beam, Appalachian Power president and chief operating officer. “As a leader in renewable energy, we are excited by the opportunity and potential this presents to further diversify our energy mix,” Beam said Tuesday.
Appalachian Power has been expanding its portfolio to include more renewables and will help the partnership research ways energy storage might improve electric reliability for customers. Last year, for instance, Appalachian Power produced roughly 2,400 gigawatt-hours of energy from wind and hydropower. “As our investment in renewables grows,” said Beam, “so will our need for energy storage.”
Both Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy also are focused on how energy storage can maximize the impact of solar energy generation. Appalachian Power, for example, has committed to providing customers with at least 600 megawatts (MW) of solar generation in Virginia by 2030, while Dominion Energy Virginia expects to provide about 16,000 MW of solar in the state over the next 15 years.
“The value of this partnership is a coordinated effort between Virginia’s largest utilities and the various economic development, workforce and policy leaders across the region,” said Virginia Republican Sen. Todd Pillion, who represents the state’s 40th district in Southwest Virginia. “We are committed to leveraging our relationships in order to aggressively pursue energy storage technology development and manufacturing opportunities in Southwest Virginia.”
Another partner, Coalfield Strategies LLC, an economic development firm focused on bringing new business investment to Southwest Virginia, will coordinate on-the-ground efforts with both utilities via InvestSWVA, the public-private campaign it will lead. Coalfield Strategies plans to use market research and site data collected from its portfolio of energy projects to define why the region is attractive to the energy storage industry.
“Virginia’s utilities are best positioned to drive the development and deployment of energy storage technology,” Coalfield Strategies Managing Partner Will Payne said, adding that the InvestSWVA team has assembled partners “that demonstrate the region’s desire to redefine itself as the energy innovation capital of the East Coast.”
Payne said the firm also will tap two key statewide authorities — the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority and the Virginia Solar Energy Development and Energy Storage Authority — to leverage industry relationships and expertise.
The partnership also includes the Appalachian School of Law, Mountain Empire Community College, and the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority.
“Ensuring that storage technology providers can participate in wholesale electric markets and be properly compensated for the value they bring, as well as their environmental benefits, requires complex legal guidance,” said Elizabeth McClanahan, dean of the Appalachian School of Law, which she said will assist the partnership in navigating rules from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Regional Transmission Organizations and state agencies.
Likewise, Mountain Empire Community College will help the partnership address workforce development considerations. “Pairing private industry with K-12 and higher education interests in the pursuit of energy storage technology will be a game-changer for our region,” said college President Kris Westover, who is also vice chairman of the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority.
Republican Terry Kilgore, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates who represents District 1, said the partnership with Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy allows the region to connect research and economic development to drive energy innovation in Southwest Virginia. “We should take an all-of-the-above approach to keep Southwest Virginia in a lead position,” he said.
