Dominion Energy has acquired a 150-MW solar facility in Central Ohio that will provide energy to a nearby Facebook data center.
Invenergy completed the Hardin Solar Energy Center, which recently went online in Hardin County, Ohio, in December. The acquisition, announced Jan. 19, marks Dominion’s first solar energy investment in Ohio, where the company already operates a natural gas local distribution subsidiary, Dominion Energy Ohio.
Facebook will use the electricity generated at Hardin, as well as its renewable energy credits, under a long-term agreement signed prior to Invenergy beginning construction in 2018.
“We continue to acquire and/or develop clean energy projects for companies like Facebook that are looking to reduce their carbon footprints and to contribute to combating climate change,” Dominion COO Diane Leopold said in a statement. “And we are proud to build on our Invenergy partnership that has already produced nearly 100 MW of solar generating capacity elsewhere.”
Dominion owns solar arrays in 10 states, including in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and California. The Richmond, Va.-based company currently has more than 2,200 MW of solar generating capacity in operation and nearly 3,500 MW of capacity in development, making it currently the third-largest owner of solar capacity among utility companies in the country. (See Dominion Names Blue as CEO in Earnings Call.)
“Invenergy is proud to further our partnerships with both Dominion Energy and Facebook, which reflect our commitment to sustainability that carries across our work with utilities and corporate renewable energy purchasers alike,” said Ted Romaine, senior vice president at Invenergy.
The renewable energy will be used to run Facebook’s New Albany Data Center, which came online in February 2020. Plans are in place to add more buildings to the campus outside of Columbus, bringing its total area to nearly 2.5 million square feet. Once completed, the center will represent an investment by Facebook of more than $1 billion.
“We are thrilled to partner with Dominion and Invenergy to bring an additional 150 MW of new solar energy to the grid,” said Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy at Facebook. “We are committed to not only supporting our operations with 100% renewable energy, but to helping accelerate the transition to renewable energy.”