Dominion eyes solar energy project for Halifax County
An exciting new Virginia solar energy pilot project may be coming to Halifax County reports the Danville Register & Bee.
Dominion Virginia Power is currently working with Halifax County officials to secure a $5 million grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission to build a $27.9 million pilot solar project in the County.
County officials say the solar plant would create 250 new local jobs – 100 during the construction phase and 150 to work in a new solar battery manufacturing facility that would be built in conjunction with the power generation plant. The project will also generate enough electricity to power roughly 1,000 homes in the area.
The solar pilot project represents an important step in the evolution of Virginia’s solar energy industry. The Halifax plant will not only generate electricity, but will be designed to test the ability of cutting-edge batteries to store large amounts of solar generated energy.
Discovering more efficient ways to store solar energy so that more of what is captured can be delivered to consumers could be a catalyst to ignite a more vibrant solar industry in Virginia and across the country. Several companies are already considering multiple large-scale solar projects on the Eastern Shore, and Virginia’s residential and commercial solar panel installation industry has experienced significant growth in the last few years.
