‘No decision is lightly made’: Fluvanna approves controversial gas plant despite community opposition

FLUVANNA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Fluvanna County officials approved a controversial gas plant permit Wednesday for a Nebraska-based company after hours of debate and community opposition.

During the board of supervisors meeting on Wednesday, March 18, supervisors voted 4-1 to approve construction of the $2.2 billion project dubbed "The Expedition Generation Station," a second Nebraska-based Tenaska power plant near the existing plant in Scottsville.

The meeting, which went into the early morning hours of Thursday, March 19, overturned the planning commission's earlier rejection of the project, citing increased tax revenue and economic benefits. The planning commission previously ruled 3-1 that the proposal was not in accord with the county’s long-term comprehensive plan.

The proposed facility aims to serve rising power demand from data centers, as Virginia is considered the data center capital of the world.

The project would produce 1,540 megawatts of power, occupying more than 400 acres along Branch Road and Rock Lane. If completed, it would create one of Virginia's largest gas generation sites, slated to come online around 2031.

The facility would include a 230-foot-tall smokestack, and the company plans to place 350 acres into a permanent conservation easement.

Supporters cited significant projected tax revenue, which is estimated at over $250 million, and increased grid reliability, with the plant categorized as a critical energy project by regional operator PJM.

“Trust me, no decision is lightly made. It has been a lot of sleepless nights, it’ll be a lot of sleepless nights in the future, but that is the price we take when we decide to do this job,” said John M. Sheridan, chair of Fluvanna's board of supervisors.

Will Smith, an employee at the current plant, called it a "fabulous opportunity."

“It’s a fabulous opportunity for our county," Smith said. "It’s an opportunity for young men like me."

Other community members raised concerns, particularly about the environmental and long-term community health impacts. Many Fluvanna residents emphasized increased pollution, affecting over four million people, including residents in Lake Monticello and other nearby localities.

Opponents of the proposal also cited noise and the plant's impact on the rural character of the county as concerns.

"If it only works with taller stacks, it doesn't work here," one community member told the board. "I'm not willing to gamble with my child's lungs, and no parent in this county should have to."

"It gets into your lungs, and there's nothing you can do about it," another community member said. "It causes all kinds of breathing problems. It's something that we don't need in this county. And the higher the stacks, the more emissions they can emit and the farther it goes."

Fluvanna Horizons Alliance, a grassroots community organization that has been leading the opposition to the plant group, expressed its disapproval during Wednesday's meeting.

Angus Murdoch, who spoke on behalf of the advocacy group, said this proposal is much bigger than Tenaska and Fluvanna as a county.

"The worst of the damage from the project before you and however many hundreds like it will probably land on places far away from Fluvanna and hit harder a generation or two or 10 after this plant has run its course and its tax revenues have all been spent," he said. "But that doesn't mean we could ignore or be excused from our role in that damage."

Those opposing the gas plant will still have opportunities to challenge the project at the state level, as there are still a few more hurdles left before construction can begin. The project must obtain permits from the State Corporation Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality, among others.

8News has reached out to Tenaska for comment, but has not yet heard back as of the time of reporting.