RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion (NYSE: D) announced today it has begun commercial operations at its Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell facility located in Bridgeport, Conn., and the Dominion Somers Solar Center located in Somers, Conn. Together, the two facilities produce approximately 20 megawatts of clean energy for the people of Connecticut, enough power for approximately 20,000 homes.

"Dominion is pleased to be adding 20 megawatts of renewable energy in Connecticut to our existing 2,100 megawatts of carbon-free power from our Millstone Power Station," said David A. Christian, Dominion Generation chief executive officer. "These stations are generating clean, reliable electricity for Connecticut."

Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell, which is located in downtown Bridgeport along Interstate 95 and the Northeast rail corridor, is producing 14.9 megawatts of clean energy using an electro-chemical process that efficiently converts natural gas into electricity.

Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell is part of Project 150, a program sponsored by the state and supported by the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) to increase renewable and clean energy projects in Connecticut by 150 megawatts. CEFIA is the nation's first full-scale clean energy finance authority that leverages public and private funds to drive investment and scale up clean energy deployment in Connecticut.

FuelCell Energy Inc. will operate and maintain the facility under a services contract with Dominion. FCE is supplying five Direct FuelCell® stationary fuel cell power plants and an organic rankine turbine that will convert waste heat from the fuel cells into additional electricity.

Dominion will sell the output of the fuel cell power station and solar center to Connecticut Light & Power under fixed power purchase agreements.

The Somers Solar Center ( https://www.dom.com/about/stations/renewable/solar/connecticut-solar-power-project.jsp) built by Prime Solutions Inc., a Connecticut contractor, occupies 50 acres in north-central Connecticut. It consists of 23,150 Kyocera solar panels that generate roughly 5 megawatts of renewable energy. The center is one of three solar projects that will be placed in service by Dominion in 2013. The others are near Augusta, Georgia and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 23,500 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.                                                        

SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power