The former coal-fired Chesterfield Power Station at Coxendale Road. (Charlie Paullin/Virginia Mercury)
Dominion Energy decided last week to build its proposed natural gas plant at its former coal-fired Chesterfield Power Station in Chesterfield County, instead of at an entirely new site, but community concerns remain.
In a statement, Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said the utility made the decision to move the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center proposal from the initial James River Industrial Park location on Battery Brooke Parkway after receiving community feedback. The power station site will “limit construction and operations to the existing industrial footprint and minimize impacts to wetlands and cultural resources,” wrote Slayton, adding the existing site already has needed infrastructure in place and will meet air quality protection requirements.
“For these reasons, we are confident the project meets all site suitability requirements under Virginia law,” Slayton said.
The project is being put forward alongside several of Dominion’s renewable energy projects to meet surging energy demands from extreme weather events, the proliferation of data centers and increasing electrification of everyday life.
But in light of the Virginia Clean Economy Act — a law requiring Dominion to transition to renewable energy sources by 2045 unless there is a concern over grid reliability — and after Democratic legislators spoke out against it, local residents continue to be opposed to the 1,000 megawatt project.
Community members have said they want more energy efficiency and storage projects developed. Residents also want a public hearing for the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors to take a formal vote to determine if the location meets “ site suitability ” requirements, which hasn’t happened.
Instead, county staff decided a conditional use permit issued in 2010 for the existing Chesterfield Power Station on Coxendale Road would be applicable to the new plant, meaning the county won’t need to make further approvals or hold public hearings on the matter.
Chesterfield County decides to not take up zoning appeal for Dominion’s natural gas plant
Dominion referenced that decision in their statement about the plant’s location change and provided that zoning determination to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality as part of the air permit approval process, but “a site suitability determination has not yet been made,” agency spokeswoman Irina Calos said in an email Tuesday.
The Friends of the Chesterfield, a group formed to oppose the plant, sent a letter on Tuesday to the county supervisors asking for an on-the-record vote of site suitability by its Sept. 25 meeting. Otherwise, the group will hold its own “People’s Hearing” on Oct. 29 to gather testimony to be submitted to DEQ and the State Corporation Commission, the state’s utility regulators, in future approval processes.
“The Board has the right and responsibility to solicit, interpret and honor the perspectives of your constituents,” the Tuesday letter states.
Nicole Martin, president of the Chesterfield NAACP, said in a joint statement with the Southern Environmental Law Center, also on Tuesday, that “Dominion’s decision-making thus far has taken place in back rooms with little to no input from community members that will have to live with pollution from this facility every day.”
“How it has handled this is not good. It’s unethical,” Martin continued. “It gets to the heart of how environmental injustice starts and persists – locking people and communities out of decisions that greatly impact all aspects of their lives.”
Next steps
The plant’s location change prompted Dominion to modify its air permit application with DEQ, which is expected to release a draft version by the end of the year. It’s unclear how the new location may impact the amount of pollution the plant is expected to produce.
Since there was no permit actually drafted for the initial location, Calos, with DEQ, said “w e are unable to determine how it would differ.” Mike Dowd, director of DEQ’s air and renewable energy division, previously told the Mercury modeling “might change.”
Under the initial permit application , the plant, with four natural gas combustion turbines, was projected to emit 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, 81.6 tons of particular matter and 344.9 tons of nitrous oxides annually, among several other pollutants.
Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia, a group that was formed to oppose Dominion’s influence in the state legislature and that has been organizing opposition to the project alongside the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said, “Halting this project is crucial to keeping utility bills in check and protecting Chesterfield residents from decades of dangerous air pollution.”
The release of the new permit by DEQ will be followed by a public comment period and multiple public hearings, as well as an application with the SCC early next year to get final approval for the project. Dominion said it will also hold at least two additional public meetings, “in the coming weeks and months.”
The utility, aware of the fierce opposition to the project, countered that it will be a necessary and reliable source of electricity for local residents and Central Virginians.
“We respect their views and will continue working as hard as we can to address their concerns,” said Slayton.
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