Virginia: Dominion plans gas-fired units in Chesterfield - Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia: Dominion plans gas-fired units in Chesterfield
Gov. Glenn Youngkin talks about the future of Virginia energy.

Dominion Energy wants to install four natural gas-fired generators next to its Chesterfield Power Station, where it has just shuttered two coal-fired units.

The generators are meant to run on the hottest or coldest days, when electricity demand soars, as well as when Dominion’s growing fleet of solar facilities and wind-power generators are not operating near their capacity — that is, at night or when winds are not blowing, said Brandon Martin, business development manager Energy Storage, Reliability and Resiliency.

The generators will be able to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 250,000 homes.

People are also reading…

Dominion hopes to begin construction in 2025.

Martin said the units will be important tools for insuring the power is available, since they can go from being shut down to producing that much electricity in 10 minutes, in case Dominion’s system operators see sudden jumps in use or that renewable facilities are offline.

But the plan drew fire from environments already on alert because of Dominion’s forecast in its latest long term plan that it would need more gas-fired plants.

"Once again, Dominion is being totally insincere about anything they say about efforts to decarbonize," said Will Cleveland of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

While Dominion is building a $9 billion offshore wind farm and setting up solar farms around the state, "you build renewables to replace fossil fuel on the grid, but they're adding more fossil fuel," he said. "If they're worried about peak demand, battery storage is a better alternative ... it offers a more dynamic response."

Dominion's latest long term plan, filed last month, said the utility needed two new gas-fired plants and the small modular reactor at the center of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s energy plan for the state to cope with accelerating growth in electricity use — averaging 5% a year for the next 15 years, as opposed to about 1% a year for the past 15.

“Dominion is proposing to increase emissions significantly, spending billions on new fossil fuel power plants and unproven, risky, and expensive technology like small modular nuclear reactors,” said Nate Benforado, Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney, after the company filed its plan detailing its gas turbine and reactor plan.

“Rather than providing a credible attempt to model a sensible, low-cost path to a zero carbon grid, Dominion appears to have decided it is politically and financially expedient to double-down on fossil fuels,” he said.
More than half of Dominion’s coal ash remains buried inside two ponds in Chesterfield County, near a power plant that borders a recreation area along the James River. The area includes Henricus Historical Park.

Victoria Higgins, Virginia director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the move would stall state plans to move to renewables.

"Dominion has to understand that this is going to result in fierce opposition," she said.

Martin said the new generators will be use the latest technology to reduce emissions and that they will need to get a Department of Environmental Quality permit that would limit the pollutants they are allowed to emit.

The generators are also subject approval by the State Corporation Commission, based on its view about whether they are needed and whether any financial burden they impose on ratepayers is fair.

Martin said the generators will be in an industrial area, away from homes or natural areas. There are two gas-fired units still at the next door Chesterfield power plant.

Construction will create 226 jobs, while once operating the generators should create 35 direct and indirect jobs.

Martin said the cost will depend on what contractors bid for the project. The trade journal Gas Turbine World has estimated that a 237 megawatt gas turbine generator costs $165.8 million.

Dave Ress (804) 649-6948

@DaveRess1 on Twitter