Dominion settles on location for proposed natural gas plant

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Dominion Energy announced on Wednesday, Aug. 21, that it would relocate the proposed “Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC)” to the Chesterfield Power Station site on Coxendale Road.

The new location is just over a mile away from the original proposed location at the James River Industrial Park site on Battery Brook Parkway. The decision to change the planned location was made “based on community engagement and careful consideration of both sites,” according to Dominion Energy.

Chesterfield County confirmed the project is a permitted use of the Power Station site under the existing Conditional Use Permit but it will need to be approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), according to Dominion Energy.

Friends of Chesterfield, a group which opposes the project, has expressed concerns about its environmental impact for more than a year and said the location will not change the group’s stance.

“People have been enduring this pollution for almost 80 years, and now, Dominion is imposing another 30 or 40 years of pollution from a gas plant,” said Friends of Chesterfield President Glen Besa. “Why would they sign up for another 30 years? They don’t deserve that.”

Besa said the county owes its residents a vote and a hearing on this gas plant and will continue to persist in that demand until they get one. He also said the gas plant is a violation of the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) of 2020.

“The VCEA calls on Dominion to phase out its coal and gas plants,” Besa said. “Instead, Dominion is going to build more gas plants. If they need more electricity, they need to invest in more solar, more wind and more battery storage.”

Dominion Energy spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said the company is already investing in solar and wind energy.

“We are currently constructing the largest offshore wind project in the U.S., the 2.6 gigawatts, coastal Virginia, offshore wind,” Slayton said. “We have the second largest solar fleet in the U.S. and it’s rapidly growing year after year.”

Slayton said Dominion customers are using 5% more energy every year on average and natural gas and renewables working together is the answer when solar and wind sources don’t work 24/7.

“When we do have those demands in power, they are on the hottest and coldest days of the year,” Slayton said. “So, we need a facility that we can trust will come on and produce that energy when it’s needed.”

Dominion will host upcoming community open house events in September so Chesterfield residents can speak their mind about the proposed gas plant.

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