SCC approves $1.3 billion power plant in Greensville County

Published March 29, 2016 by Robert Powell, III

The State Corporation Commission has approved a proposed $1. 3 billion, natural gas-fired power plant that Dominion Virginia Power plans to build in Greensville County.

The combined-cycle Greensville County Power station would generate about 1,588 megawatts of electricity. It will be built on a 55-acre site straddling the Greensville-Brunswick county line.

The power plant is scheduled to be online by 2019. It will be just a few miles from Dominion's Brunswick Power Station, which is expected to be fully operational next month.

The SCC determined that Dominion had established a need for additional generating capacity. The commission also said the company had adequately weighed alternatives, including renewable-energy options.

Along with the new power plant, the SCC approved the construction of new 500-kilovolt transmission lines, a new switching station and related facilities in Greensville and Brunswick counties, which will connect the plant to the electric transmission network. 

Dominion said construction at the power station will create more than 1,000 jobs. The facility is expected to create 45 full-time positions once it is on line.

In its first year of operation, the power plant is expected to provide as much as $8 million in property taxes for Greensville, Dominion said.

The power company estimates that its customers will save $2.1 billion during the life of the plant through fuel savings when compared to the projected cost of purchasing electricity on the open market.