Amazon to share 120 MW of solar with D.C. suburb

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Arlington County, Virginia, could meet and exceed its goal of having half of all electricity used in the county’s government operations come from renewable resources by 2022, thanks to a partnership with Amazon.

Under terms of the virtual power purchase agreement, which also includes Dominion Energy, Amazon and Arlington will split the electricity generated by a new 120 MW solar farm Dominion is constructing on 1,500 acres in Pittsylvania County, located in southern Virginia, not far from the North Carolina border.

The solar project is set to come online during the second half of 2022, at which point Amazon will purchase 82 MW. The county will buy the remaining 38 MW. Those capacity is expected to allow Arlington County to power at least 80% of the government’s electricity needs.

The county sits across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., and will host Amazon’s HQ2, a hotly contested corporate prize that enthralled cities across the country starting in 2017.

Beyond the 2022 goal of powering 50% of all government operations with renewable energy, the county plans to require government entities to convert to 100% renewable electricity by 2025; the entire community will be required to source 100% of its power from renewables in 2035.

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