Wind, solar, and an extended commitment to nuclear power are at the heart of Dominion Energy's latest integrated resource plan, announced May 1.

Major common elements through the 15-year planning period of 2018-2032 include:

• By 2022, the addition of at least 990 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity owned by third-party generators in northeastern North Carolina and Virginia under long-term contracts;

• At least 3,200 MW of new solar capacity by 2032, and at least 5,200 MW by 2042;

• Bringing Greensville County Power Station into service by 2019;

• Adding around 1,374 MW of new natural gas-powered combustion turbine units by 2032;

• Re-licensing four nuclear units;

• Developinthe 12-MW Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project, testing two wind turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach, as early as 2021; and

• Implementing demand-side management programs that are forecast to reduce the annual energy consumption of Dominion Virginia Power customers by over 1,200 gigawatt-hours by 2032.

The carbon footprint for a typical Dominion Virginia Power customer would shrink by as much as 25% over the next eight years, the company says. When added to reductions already made by Dominion, carbon emissions to meet the energy needs of a typical residential customer would fall by up to 46% between 2007 and 2027.

The main drivers of these improvements are a significant drop in the subsidized cost of utility-scale universal solar power, the ability to support the variable output of solar and wind with highly efficient natural gas generation, and Virginia's two nuclear power stations.

The company said it anticipates future national and state energy policy to include limitations on greenhouse gas emissions in some form. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set reductions in power station carbon emissions in August 2015 through its Clean Power Plan. That plan is now under federal court review and President Trump has ordered the EPA to review the rule and to begin the process of revising or rescinding it.

Nonetheless, Dominion says the federal government "remains under a legal requirement to address carbon as a regulated pollutant. "EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has said these rules should be "enforced and respected," thus creating great uncertainty about the future of environmental regulations and how they will impact power plants.

At the state level, the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board is currently considering a petition on carbon limitations. Also, a taskforce set up by Governor McAuliffe is developing proposals to reduce carbon emission in Virginia, regardless of what happens with federal Clean Power Plan rules.

"For the first time, the subsidized costs of utility-scale universal solar power are expected to be low enough to make it a component of future generation additions at reasonable cost to our customers," Paul Koonce, CEO of Dominion Generation Group, said in announcing the company's annual Integrated Resource Plan.

The company says it has lowered carbon emissions in recent years by converting four coal-fired power stations to natural gas or renewable biomass; building efficient natural gas power stations in Virginia to reduce imports of electricity from higher-carbon sources outside the state; encouraging energy conservation; and increasing efficiency of its existing stations to produce more energy with the same amount of fuel. The company's newest coal-fired station, the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, can use biomass for up to 20% of its fuel.

At least 5,200 megawatts of new solar generation could be added during the 25-year study period, Dominion says. Solar eventually could generate electricity at maximum output to serve more than 1.3 million homes when there is sufficient sunlight.

Together with the company's North Anna and Surry nuclear facilities, over a third of Dominion's Virginia service territory could be powered with carbon-free electricity by 2032. Most of the rest of the demand would be served by natural gas.

The Virginia General Assembly earlier this year adopted legislation that supports the company's plans to seek a second federal relicensing for the reactors at North Anna and Surry. Surry's reactors are licensed until 2032 and 2033, respectively, and North Anna's are licensed until 2038, and 2040. Together, they have a generating capacity of 3,349 MW.

In addition to advancing renewable energy, grid modernization also will help strengthen the grid against cyber or physical attacks, provide more control and information for customers, and will improve our ability to restore power promptly after outages.

Increased adoption of solar energy will require extensive upgrades to the energy grid, Dominion says. For this reason, the company's long-range forecast discusses the need to modernize the energy grid to create a more dynamic system better equipped to respond to both cost-effective utility-scale universal solar facilities and the expected increase in smaller, widely dispersed solar generation.

Additionally, modernization will ultimately be able to provide customers with more information on their energy consumption and new opportunities to manage their usage.