New rooftop installations in northern Virginia are part of a program aimed at installing 30 megawatts of solar power in the state, Dominion Virginia Power said.

The utility company said it installed 3,000 solar panels on the roof of a distribution center in Sterling, Va., used by industrial real estate company Prologis, Inc.

Once completed by October, the installation will generate around 800 kilowatts of power, enough to meet the annual energy demands of about 200 homes. It's the first such installation in the area for Dominion and part of a broader effort to build 30 megawatts of rooftop solar installations for the utility company's customers.

"The partnership with Prologis will enable us to evaluate the benefits and study the impact of distributed solar generation on our electric grid," Ken Barker, vice president of customer solutions, said in a statement.

The Virginia state assembly has recommended getting 15 percent of the electricity for state consumers from renewable energy resources by 2025.

Dominion received $51 million in grants from the Department of Energy for a wind energy demonstration project. If approved, the project would include two turbines capable of producing six megawatts of power each.