ROUNDUP: Local Leaders Oppose Gas-Fired Power Plant in Chesterfield
Proposed southern view of the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, adjacent to the existing Chesterfield Power Station. Rendering by Dominion Energy
Local Legislators Oppose the Gas-Fired Power Plant
Central Virginia legislators released a statement in opposition to the proposed gas-fired power plant in Chesterfield, Virginia. Senators Ghazala Hashmi, Lamont Bagby and Lashrecse Aird, and Delegates Delores McQuinn, Betsy Carr, Rodney Willett, Rae Cousins, Michael Jones, and Debra Gardner say the gas-fired power plant contradicts the law outlined in the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Virginia Environmental Justice Act.
Chesterfield Power Plant Takes Virginia in the Wrong Direction
The proposed gas-fired plant, named “Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center” by developers, would consist of four natural gas-powered turbines that developers claim could produce enough energy to power up to 250,000 homes. It would serve as back-up generation when other resources aren’t available, but filings from Dominion Energy reveal use could be up to 33% of the year.
New gas plants have an anticipated lifespan of 40 years, and Dominion’s gas plant would continue emitting carbon 22 years after the company is required to achieve zero emissions. This project therefore directly contradicts the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires Virginia’s electric grid to be 100% carbon-free by 2045.
Continued Burdens for an Environmental Justice Community
The communities within a three-mile radius of the proposed plant’s location are primarily low-income and people of color who still suffer from the pollution connected to Dominion’s coal-fired Chesterfield Power Station during its more than 70 years of operation. People living in that area are already environmentally burdened by a former coal plant that sat adjacent to the new proposed gas plant site until 2022. Mandated by law, Dominion is still cleaning up all remaining coal ash at the site. The coal waste is stored in ponds, which leaches chemicals such as arsenic into groundwater and nearby water bodies.
Senator Hashmi was the sponsor of the Environmental Justice Act and opposes further environmental burdens on this community. Local residents echo her concerns and have publicly opposed the project. Chesterfield County NAACP president, Nicole Martin, emphasized the concern in a statement: “We are particularly disturbed that a community that had already endured 79 years of air pollution from a recently retired coal-fired power plant would be compelled to suffer from a major new source of air pollution for another 30 years.”
Statements from the Conservation Community
Virginia Conservation Network Partners released the following statements thanking legislators for speaking out in opposition to the proposed gas-fired plant in Chesterfield. Check back for more statements.
Virginia Conservation Network
“We are grateful to the nine lawmakers who have signed this letter of opposition and have listened to the concerns voiced by our partner organizations and the communities directly affected by the proposed unnecessary natural gas plant in Chesterfield. Their willingness to speak out against this facility and to defend the Virginia Clean Economy Act demonstrates a commitment to clean air and environmental justice in the communities that they represent. This letter underscores that our legislature is ready and committed to a cleaner and greener future for the Commonwealth, and that we do not intend to move backwards on our clean energy goals.”
– Lillian Anderson, Clean Energy & Climate Justice Policy & Campaigns Manager
Appalachian Voices
“Central Virginia legislators who clearly expressed their opposition to Dominion’s proposed gas plant for Chesterfield County understand that new fossil fuel production and its related environmental and health impacts are at odds with a healthy future for the Commonwealth. We appreciate that they are standing up to voice this important opinion.”
– Jessica Sims, Virginia Field Coordinator
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
“The state lawmakers that signed this letter represent the communities most impacted by this polluting gas plant. Their opposition makes clear that Dominion’s plans are incompatible with the clean energy transition envisioned by the Virginia Clean Economy Act and mandated by the General Assembly. Constructing a massive gas plant in the midst of a climate crisis is inexcusable, unnecessary, and offensive to communities who expect their government to deliver cleaner air, a healthy environment, and a stable planet. We extend our gratitude to the Central Virginia delegation for unequivocally demonstrating their commitment to climate action. Virginia is leading the way on climate and we will not accept regression to the dirty days of the past.”
– Victoria Higgins , Virginia Director
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
“Protecting Virginia’s families from pollution should be the floor of policy from any public official. We applaud our Virginia legislators for utilizing their authority to raise these critical and urgent problems with Dominion’s proposal to build an expensive, harmful gas-fired power plant that undermines state law and environmental justice. As the local Chesterfield Planning Commission and the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors evaluate this project and prepare for their upcoming decisions on the conditional use permit, we urge them to consider heavily the concerns raised by community groups, the SCC Hearing Examiner Ann Berkebile and by our Virginia legislators in regard to Dominion’s proposal.”
– Ann Creasy, Field Director
Southern Environmental Law Center
“The General Assembly Members of the Central Virginia Region could not be more correct in their assessment that Dominion should be leading the way to a true clean energy transition, but is instead proposing a polluting project that makes little fiscal sense. We applaud these legislators for taking the time to not only hear from the utility, but to actively seek input from their constituents and to evaluate information from other parties to inform their position. We stand with these Central Virginia legislators and the communities they represent, many of whom have borne the brunt of polluting power plants. These communities and all Virginians, deserve electric service that embraces rather than rejects the Commonwealth’s policy on environmental justice and clean energy laws.”
– Rachel James, Associate Attorney