Dominion Plans 3.5GW of Batteries as PJM Runs 6,800MW Short
Dominion Energy's new resource plan adds 3.5GW of BESS over 20 years, along with 8.9GW of gas, as PJM auctions clear short and Virginia mandates storage.
3 min readAI-assisted
A small battery fleet today, a much larger plan ahead.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Virginia, October 15 — Dominion Energy filed a 2026 integrated resource plan (IRP) that calls for 3.5GW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) over the next 20 years, alongside 8.9GW of new gas-fired capacity.
An IRP is a utility's long-range plan for which power plants it will build or buy. Dominion filed the full plan with the North Carolina Utilities Commission and an interim update with Virginia's State Corporation Commission (SCC).
The Technical Details
Dominion says demand in its zone keeps rising, with peaks shifting to winter mornings and summer evenings, when solar and wind produce less. It also cites tightening capacity in PJM, the regional grid operator whose capacity market Dominion relies on for reliability.
The preferred plan favors solar, wind and BESS petitioned by 2035 and built by 2039. Only batteries petitioned by 2030 are locked in up front; the rest are chosen on least cost.
- BESS in plan: 3.5GW over 20 years
- Other new capacity: 21GW+ solar, 3.4GW offshore wind, 8.9GW gas, three SMR sets from 2042
- Virginia mandate by 2045: 16,000MW short-duration BESS, 3,480MW long-duration storage
- BESS today: about 50MW operating; 170MW+ company-owned approved; 459MW approved under PPAs
- Pending petition: 712MW BESS and nearly 5,000MW solar
- PJM 2028/2029 auction: cleared at price cap, 6,800MW+ short, 14.4% reserve margin vs. 20% target
- Storage share of 2025 capacity mix: 0.1% vs. natural gas 39.7%
- Long-duration pilots at Darbytown: Eos Energy zinc-hybrid vs. Form Energy iron-air (up to 100 hours)
Dominion's battery storage, from operating to planned. Source: Dominion Energy.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Voltgrid Analysis: Infrastructure Implications
The scale gap is the headline. Dominion runs about 50MW of batteries today, so a 3.5GW plan is roughly 70 times its current fleet, our arithmetic. Yet 3.5GW is still well below the 16,000MW short-duration mandate Virginia set for 2045, so later plans will need to grow.
PJM pressure explains the gas. The 2028/2029 auction cleared more than 6,800MW short, with a 14.4% reserve margin against a 20% target. FERC recently approved PJM's large load registry but rejected its curtailment plan, so data center growth in Dominion's zone still lands on capacity that does not yet exist.
The long-duration pilots matter for data centers that need firm power through evening peaks. Eos Energy's zinc-hybrid and Form Energy's 100-hour iron-air systems will be tested side by side. For the cost case, see our report on 4-hour BESS undercutting gas peakers, and our BESS hub.
Voltgrid Verdict
Looking Ahead
The SCC will review Dominion's 712MW BESS and nearly 5,000MW solar petition in its annual renewable development proceeding. Its ruling on whether long-duration storage is technically viable will decide if the 3,480MW long-duration target takes effect.
Source: Energy-Storage.news, Dominion Energy.
