Dive Brief:

• Dominion Virginia Power last week filed its 2016 Integrated Resource Plan with Virginia and North Carolina, indicating it will pursue a broad array of generation over the next 15 years including license extensions at all four of its nuclear facilities.
• The plan also calls for development of 400 MW of utility-scale solar in Virginia by 2020, and another 600 MW of non-utility solar in both states by 2017.
• The utility highlighted a variety of plans with difference compliance options addressing uncertainty surrounding the Clean Power Plan, but closing 323 MW of coal-fired generation at its Yorktown station is a common element among all of them.

Dive Insight:

Dominion's proposals highlight the uncertainty caused by the Clean Power Plan, but the utility said the 15-year Integrated Resource Plan "strongly focuses on expanding low- and zero-carbon forms of energy generation as the company develops its final approach."

"The big theme this year is that we're dealing with even more uncertainty," said Bob Thomas, Dominion's director of energy market analysis. 

This filing comes after the utility defended its hefty investment in looking at potentially building a new unit at the North Anna nuclear facility. The idea has been controversial since it was floated. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported last year that Dominion's 15-year plan at the time showed nuclear to be more expensive than new gas or renewable infrastructure.

In its latest plan, the company has filed five approaches to long-term resource procurement with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, including one plan specifically designed to provide the lowest-cost option and four alternative approaches meet customer needs while complying with new carbon regulations. The utility said it "continues to evaluate significant changes in its generation system and will comply with the new requirements while staying focused on keeping electricity highly reliable and holding down energy costs as much as possible."

Among Dominion's proposals, it would test two wind turbines offshore Virginia Beach, complete almost 1,600 MW of gas-fired generation by 2019, and apply for operating license extensions at all of its nuclear facilities, Units 1 and 2 at the Surry and North Anna plants.

In its plan, Dominion quests what ultimate carbon restrictions it will face and lays out a variety if plans. "One must ask, will the CPP remain in its current form or will it be revised," the utility asks. "Also, should the CPP remain intact as promulgated, what happens beyond the 2030 final target date?"

Dominion concluded that "when considering questions such as these, it is reasonable to anticipate that resources such as North Anna 3, offshore wind, and new demandside resources may be required."

Demandside plans, including some already approve by Virginia regulators, would reduce peak load by 330 MW by 2031 – he final year of the planning cycle. The program aims to save more than 750 GWh annually.

A copy of Dominion's plan can be found here.