We expect to grow our earnings per share by 6.5% per year through at least 2025, supported by our updated $32 billion five-year growth capital plan.
Keep in mind that over 80% of that capital investment is emissions reduction enabling and that over 70% is rider eligible.
We offer an attractive dividend yield of approximately 3.2%, reflecting a target payout ratio of 65% and an expected long-term dividend per share growth rate of 6%.
This resulting approximately 10% total shareholder return proposition is combined with an attractive pure-play, state-regulated utility profile characterized by industry-leading ESG credentials and the largest regulated decarbonization investment opportunity in the country, as shown on the next slide.
Our 15-year opportunity is estimated to be over $70 billion, with multiple programs that extend well beyond our five-year plan and skew meaningfully toward rider-style regulated cost of service recovery.
Our first-quarter 2021 operating earnings, as shown on Slide 6, were $1.09 per share, which included a $0.01 hurt from worse than normal weather in our utility service territories.
GAAP earnings for the quarter were $1.23 per share.
For the second quarter of 2021, we expect operating earnings to be between $0.70 and $0.80 per share.
Since January, we've issued $1.3 billion of long-term debt, consistent with our 2021 financing plan guidance at a weighted average cost of 2.4%.
We're pleased that the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia offshore wind project has been declared a covered project under Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act program, also known as FAST 41.
Recall, we had assumed a lifetime capacity factor of around 41% for the full-scale deployment.
As we observed within the industry recently, utility systems are only as good as they are resilient, which is one of the reasons that we made the decision in 2019 to go the extra distance to connect to our 500 kV transmission system to ensure that the project's power will be available when our customers need it most.
Taken as a whole, there's no change to our confidence around the project's expected LCOE range of $80 to $90 per megawatt-hour.
On solar, on Friday, the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved our most recent clean energy filing, which included 500 megawatts of solar capacity across nine projects, including over 80 megawatts of utility-owned solar, the fourth consecutive such approval.
We also recently issued an RFP for an additional 1,000 megawatts of solar and onshore wind, as well as 100 megawatts of energy storage and 100 megawatts of small-scale solar projects, and eight megawatts of solar to support our community solar program.
Since our last call, we've continued to derisk our plan to meet the VCEA solar milestone by putting another 30,000 acres of land under option, bringing the total to nearly 100,000 acres of options or exclusive land agreements, which is enough to support the approximately 10 gigawatts of utility-owned solar as called for by the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
The Surry station provides around 15% of the state's total electricity and around 45% of the state's zero-carbon generation.
For example, as part of our recently filed natural gas rate case in North Carolina, we asked the North Carolina Utilities Commission to approve five new sustainability-oriented programs: hydrogen blending pilot, that's part of our goal to be able to blend hydrogen across our entire gas utility footprint by 2030; a new option to allow our customers to purchase RNG attributes; and three new energy efficiency programs.
As a reminder, the preferred plan and the revised filing calls for the retirement of all coal-fired generation in our South Carolina system by the end of the decade, which helps to drive a projected carbon reduction of nearly 60% by 2030 as compared to 2005.
Consider these facts, 99.9% average reliability delivered at rates that are between 8% and 35% lower than comparable peer groups.
Our filing also reflects over $200 million of customer arrears forgiveness as directed by the general assembly, relief that is helping our most vulnerable customers address the financial impacts of COVID-19.
The filing also identifies nearly $5 billion of investment in rate base on behalf of our customers over the four-year review period, including $300 million of capital investment in renewable energy and grid transformation projects that we believe meet the eligibility criteria for reinvestment credits for customers.
In Virginia, during the now adjourned session, the Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 1965, which adopts low and zero-emissions vehicle programs that mirror vehicle emission standards in California.
We affirmed our existing long-term earnings and dividend guidance.

Summary:
Our first-quarter 2021 operating earnings, as shown on Slide 6, were $1.09 per share, which included a $0.01 hurt from worse than normal weather in our utility service territories.
GAAP earnings for the quarter were $1.23 per share.
For the second quarter of 2021, we expect operating earnings to be between $0.70 and $0.80 per share.
We affirmed our existing long-term earnings and dividend guidance.