Appalachian Power Company

10/28/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/28/2021 07:42

Appalachian Power adds 20 MW of solar power to its Virginia energy supply

Appalachian Power adds 20 MW of solar power to its Virginia energy supply

October 28, 2021

ROANOKE, Va. - Appalachian Power has expanded its renewables portfolio with the addition of 20 megawatts (MW) of solar power with plans to incorporate more solar to its energy supply later this year. The company is receiving the 20 MW of solar through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Leatherwood Solar, a solar generation facility in Henry County, Va. developed by Energix Renewables.

The Leatherwood Solar facility is located in Henry County, Va., east of Martinsville.

Appalachian Power will add an additional 35 MW of contracted solar power to its energy supply over the next several months when the 15MW Depot Solar Center in Campbell County, Va. and Energix Renewables' 20MW Wythe County, Va. facilities go online.

"Solar is a big part of our overall clean energy strategy," said Chris Beam, Appalachian Power president and chief operating officer. "Our signed agreements demonstrate our commitment to providing affordable clean energy for our customers and meeting the targets established by the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA)."

Passed in 2020 by the Virginia General Assembly, the VCEA seeks to end carbon dioxide emissions from the utility industry in Virginia. Appalachian Power intends to meet its VCEA targets primarily through future investments in solar, wind, energy storage, and energy efficiency measures.

"We are excited to cooperate with AEP to deliver clean energy and applaud them for their commitment to meet their clean energy goals," said Asa (Asi) Levinger, Energix Renewable Energies Ltd. chief executive officer. "We look forward to deepening our cooperation with AEP and to bringing more power to the grid."

Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is part of American Electric Power, which is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions. AEP's approximately 16,800 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electricity transmission system and more than 223,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.5 million customers in 11 states. AEP is also one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 30,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 5,500 megawatts of renewable energy.