Dominion (D) to Develop Cutting-edge Battery Storage With VSU
Dominion Energy Inc. D announced that it is partnering with Virginia State University (VSU) to develop a cutting-edge battery storage project that would provide backup power to the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.
This is one of several initiatives that were submitted to the Virginia State Corporation Commission in September. If approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), the project is expected to be in operation by the end of 2027.
Benefits of the Project
The aforementioned projects will evaluate three lithium-ion battery substitutes that have the potential to discharge electricity for noticeably longer periods of time.
The 1.5-megawatt (MW) battery that will be built on the university's Ettrick campus, which is situated in southern Chesterfield County, will be produced by California-based EnerVenue. The energy storage vessels from EnerVenue have the capacity to release energy for ten hours, thanks to metal-hydrogen technology, which is a variant of that utilized in the aerospace sector.
Dominion intends to test two more cutting-edge battery storage technologies, one of which has the capacity to discharge electricity for up to 100 hours at another facility in Henrico County. In the United States, most battery storage is now restricted to four hours or less.
The VSU pilot project is just the latest in a long line of developments in battery storage, which includes the opening of Dominion's biggest battery storage site at Dulles International in August 2023. The company also has four other battery storage facilities in Powhatan County, Hanover County, New Kent County, and Chesterfield County, and a sixth under-construction installation in Sussex County.
D's Focus on Renewable Energy
Dominion aims to attain net-zero carbon and methane emissions from its electric generation and natural gas infrastructure by 2050.
The company is working on offshore wind projects, battery storage projects and hydropower projects to lower emissions. Its long-term objective is to add 24 gigawatts (GW) of battery storage, solar, hydro and wind (offshore as well as onshore) projects by 2036 and increase the renewable energy capacity by more than 15% per year, on average, over the next 15 years.
In September 2023, Dominion proposed a new battery storage pilot project in a filing with the SCC. The pilot project, which will be situated at the current Darbytown Power Station in Henrico County, will test two lithium-ion battery substitutes — zinc-hybrid batteries created by Eos Energy Enterprises EOSE and iron-air batteries created by Form Energy.
Growth Prospects
A transition is evident in the Utility space, with companies adding more renewable sources of energy to their generation portfolio. The development of renewable projects in the United States will also require the development of efficient battery storage projects that ensure excess electricity generated from renewable projects remains available to consumers for a longer period of time and is distributed when demand increases.
Battery storage capacity in the country has grown rapidly over the past couple of years. Per the U.S. Energy Information Administration, battery capacity in the United States is likely to double in 2023, with a planned capacity addition of nearly 9.4 GW. This represents the immense potential for battery storage project infrastructure expansion for utilities.
Batteries are playing an increasingly important role in electricity reliability as Dominion builds the largest U.S. offshore wind project and continues to expand the nation's second-largest solar fleet.
Apart from D, other electric power utility companies like Alliant Energy Corp. LNT and Duke Energy Corp. DUK are also focused on the battery storage projects in the United States.
In August 2023, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved two Alliant Energy battery energy storage projects — the 100-MW Grant County Battery project and the 75-MW Wood County Battery project.
LNT’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 6.26%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2023 EPS indicates an increase of 2.1% year over year.
In March 2023, Duke Energy commenced operations at its battery storage project in Onslow County, NC. The project, which boasts a capacity of 11 MW, is claimed to be the largest storage facility in the state.
DUK’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.09%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2023 EPS indicates an increase of 6.1% year over year.
Price Performance
In the past month, shares of Dominion have risen 15% compared with the industry’s 4.7% growth.
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Zacks Rank
D currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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