Chesterfield County: Report undercuts rationale for Dominion Energy gas plant

A report prepared by a New York-based analytics and engineering firm undercuts the rationale that Dominion Energy needs to build a proposed $8 billion gas-fueled power plant in Chesterfield County.

“Dominion’s application does not demonstrate that the Chesterfield gas plant is the only viable option,” said Ryan Deyoe, a senior analyst at Telos Energy, in testimony presented to the State Corporation Commission, which is reviewing the application for the gas plant ahead of a September public hearing.

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Dominion, per state law, can only receive approval for the proposed 944-megawatt plant to solve a demonstrated “threat to the reliability or security of electric service.”

Deyoe’s analysis, prepared on behalf of Appalachian Voices, Mothers Out Front, the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center – argues that the threat identified in company’s analyses is completely preventable.

“Dominion can and should take proactive steps to improve and expand its grid. But those are all changes that can be prudently planned for in response to forecasted load growth, not signs that the system is at risk now, or even in five years,” Deyoe said. “And in fact, my testimony demonstrates that, when corrected, Dominion’s analyses do not actually show unserved energy in its region during extreme weather events when clean energy resources, storage, and existing thermal resources are adequately deployed.”

Deyoe, in his testimony, recommends that the SCC should deny the application to build the Chesterfield gas plant on the basis that Dominion has failed to support its proposal with a rigorous analysis that meets the statutory requirements.

“We look forward to presenting our case,” said Grayson Holmes, a senior attorney in SELC’s Charlottsville office. “The company’s analysis assumes that it would keep significant resources offline or producing below their capabilities, choosing instead to build a new, expensive gas resource.”

“Reliability analyses should be used to ensure a reliable system – not to manufacture emergencies or misrepresent operations,” said Melissa Thomas, senior organizer for Mothers Out Front. “Rushed and baseless utility planning won’t result in a good outcome for Dominion’s customers, or the Commonwealth, and will fall the hardest on communities that have borne the brunt of polluting plants for decades. Thoughtful planning and thorough oversight will benefit Virginians.”

“When you look under the hood of Dominion’s reliability claims, the data simply do not reflect the situation the company has been repeating in the press,” said Peter Anderson, Energy Policy Director for Appalachian Voices. “No one is denying that there is some load growth, and we will need new resources. But there is no justification for backtracking on clean energy progress and saddling communities with new polluting plants.”