Proposed Chesterfield gas plant draws community objections, industry support

Virginia officials slammed Dominion Energy’s proposed peaker gas plant slated to be built in Chesterfield at an air permit hearing Monday night, as community members and their representatives said the pollution in the air will be too great.

“I don’t understand how we impose upon a community that’s been put upon over 70 years with serious air pollution of a coal plant that is finally breathing freely,” said Glen Besa with the Friends of Chesterfield advocacy group. “Now to be put upon to endure the air pollution associated with this plant.”

Meanwhile, business advocates supported the project, saying they want to be certain the lights turn on when they flip the switch. The company said the plant is critical for meeting demand.

The proposed Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center would be built on the site of a former coal-fired power plant that  closed its doors two years ago after burning for over 70 years. Two gas units are still operational on the property and produce about 450MW of energy. The proposed project would only run about 37% of the time during peak demand days, such as the hottest and coldest days of the year. It’ll power up in a matter of minutes to assist the regional power grid to ease strain.

Twenty state legislators have signed on to a letter asking the State Corporation Commission to reject Dominion’s application of necessity and for the Department of Environmental Quality to reject the air permit. The letter explains how the state has committed to the Virginia Clean Economy Act that mandates utilities to be using 100% renewable energy sources by 2050.

“I call on the DEQ to deny Dominion’s air permit, and also call on Dominion to change course and instead help us lead the way so Virginia can do a true, clean energy transition,” said state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, who is also running for lieutenant governor.

Hundreds of members of the Chesterfield community and surrounding areas came to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality hearing for the air permit on Monday night. Since the coal plant closed down, the air quality in the area has improved. The department said that the so-called peaker plant will be significantly less polluting than the previous coal plant. 

The area near the plant has a high population of Black and Hispanic community members, many people in the community being Spanish-speaking. Advocates who spoke at the meeting said the plant could add to worsening health outcomes in the area, and the greenhouse gases will contribute to climate change that threatens the state.

“We need to move to cleaner energy sources due to our severe climate crisis. The number of 100-year storms and 500-year storms in our country, in our region, have increased immensely. The gas put out by this plant would not help that at all,” said Jessica Schneider, a Chesterfield County supervisor.

People at the meeting in favor of the plant donned stickers stating their support for reliable energy. Some said there are not enough renewable energy projects to manage the energy load the state is facing in the coming years.

“The Commonwealth must ensure businesses have access to dependable power, particularly during periods of high demand,” said Keith Martin, the CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “The ability to generate power on demand at any time and in any condition, is essential to maintaining grid reliability. Without a constant, always available power supply, the grid is vulnerable.”

The department uses air monitors inside the smoke stacks of plants to ensure they are not going over their allocated amount of pollutants. There are also community monitors to read the ambient air quality. 

“Emission reduction systems designed to reduce nitrogen oxide, carbon oxide, and other emissions will be added to the new units. CERC will always utilize newer, more efficient turbines that minimize the CO2 emissions,” said Kevin Battle with the boilermakers union, who hopes to build part of this project.

Those opposing the plant said the monitors are too far away from the plant and not accurate enough to get a read on how much people in the surrounding areas are breathing in. With the coal plant recently shutting down and coal ash still being removed from the site, they said  more pollutants should not be added to the air.

“I know there are options that are there,” said Del. Michael Jones, D-Richmond. “And so I would just ask that Dominion and all the parties involved would find a better place to locate this and a better way in which to meet our energy demands.”

The roughly $1.4 billion construction project would be able to generate up to 1000MW of energy — enough to power 250,000 homes — and is anticipated to come online in 2029 if approved. It will add an estimated $1.36 to the average customer’s bill for the entire life of the project, which would span decades. That comes as Dominion is arguing to the State Corporation Commission to raise the base rate an additional $10 over the next two years. Dominion said this project is important to ensure there is grid reliability moving forward as power use increases.

“Without this facility, predictions show significant reliability risk in the near term. Speaking as a professional engineer, I believe we have presented compelling evidence of those risks for our regulators and the SCC,” said Cedric Green, the senior vice president of energy generation at Dominion.

Mark Miller, a Chesterfield county supervisor, said the new fusion plant that is also slated for the area will take away the need for the peaker plant. The nuclear energy plant is a first of its kind in the state and is expected to put 400 MW of energy on the grid by the early 2030s, according to Commonwealth Fusion Systems. A Dominion spokesperson said fusion plants are an emerging industry and that it does not have to be one or the other in an “all of the above” energy profile.

Dominion will present its case for the project to the SCC on Tuesday, Sept. 23. A decision is expected several weeks later.

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