See below for a press release from the Chesapake Climate Action Network (CCAN) about the State Corporation Commission (SCC)’s “short-sighted decision to approve Chesterfield Gas Plant.” Why is it “short-sighted?” Because: a) it’s economically absurd – “will cost ratepayers $8 billion over its lifetime”; b) environmentally, it “will produce more toxic and planet-warming pollutants than the former coal plant, including dangerous substances like fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and volatile organic compounds, as well as billions of pounds of greenhouse gasses.” And, in the end, why do this? So that, as CCAN puts it, “Big Tech can power its data centers and monopoly utilities can profit from them.” F’ing brilliant, huh?
Climate Group Criticizes Short-Sighted Decision to Approve Chesterfield Gas Plant
Controversial plant will further a legacy of environmental injustice in Chesterfield
RICHMOND, VA — Despite years of vocal opposition from nearby residents as well as health, climate, and racial justice organizations, the State Corporation Commission approved today the 944-Megawatt Chesterfield gas plant, clearing the way for its construction. The plant will be constructed on the site of a former coal plant and, despite being billed as a “cleaner” option, will produce more toxic and planet-warming pollutants than the former coal plant, including dangerous substances like fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and volatile organic compounds, as well as billions of pounds of greenhouse gasses. It will cost ratepayers $8 billion over its lifetime.
Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), issued the following statement:
“This decision flies in the face of an affordable energy future. It flies in the face of a stable climate future. And it is an insult to the injuries that the Chesterfield community has endured from toxic coal pollution over the last 80 years. More than anything, we are heartbroken for the people who will get sick and spend days and dollars in the hospital thanks to this short-sighted decision, children playing at home with their families this Thanksgiving who will develop asthma and inherit an unstable planet. That is the price they will pay to ensure Big Tech can power its data centers and monopoly utilities can profit from them.”
Dominion’s new plant would operate up to 37% of the time, emitting about 4,500,000,000 lbs of CO2-equivalent per year. That’s the equivalent of adding over 470,000 cars to the road. Calculations show this would directly cause more than 6 million square meters of Arctic sea ice to melt each year.
Communities within a three-mile radius of the proposed plant’s location are largely low income and people of color who have suffered from the legacy pollution connected to Dominion’s coal-fired Chesterfield Power Station during its eight decades of operation, yielding additional opposition from the county’s NAACP branch, Friends of Chesterfield, and other community groups active in the area.
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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
