The controversial proposed Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center has cleared its final major regulatory hurdle, winning approval from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

In a letter dated Dec. 19, DEQ officials gave the green light for the 944-megawatt peaker plant to operate in Chesterfield County near the Dutch Gap Conservation Area south of Richmond. 

Dominion Energy has argued that the plant is needed to meet energy demand on the hottest and coldest days of the year. The new plant is slated to run about 30% of the time and will be able to be fired up in just minutes. It is set to be built on the site of a former coal-fired plant that was retired in 2018 after operating for 70 years. Two gas turbines currently remain in operation at the site, providing about 400 megawatts of electricity. 

“This project will provide reliable power for hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, schools and hospitals in Chesterfield and beyond. As part of our all-of-the-above energy strategy, it will ensure our region has the reliable power we need to continue growing and thriving,” Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said. 

Fenceline communities near the project have been rallying against it for years. They argue that air monitors inside the towers and in the surrounding region do not fully capture the pollution the plant will emit. While emissions would be significantly lower than those from the previous coal plant, advocates said residents living nearby should not be subjected to them at all. 

“We are profoundly disappointed that DEQ is siding with corporate polluters and ignoring the health impacts of air pollution from this dirty methane-fired power plant on our community,” said Glen Besa, chair of Friends of Chesterfield. 

The State Corporation Commission approved the project in November and also allowed the company to recover $1.47 billion from ratepayers to cover construction costs. The project is expected to come online in 2029 if construction begins in 2026 as Dominion hopes. 

The Southern Environmental Law Center recently filed a petition on behalf of Appalachian Voices, the Chesterfield NAACP and Mothers Out Front challenging the final order, prompting the SCC to put that order on hold while it reviews the merits of the case. The petition argues that the project does not comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act or the standards outlined in the Virginia Environmental Justice Act. 

“We hope that the commission will see and acknowledge the unfairness of continuing to force particular communities to bear the brunt of pollution from fossil fuel infrastructure,” said SELC senior attorney Grayson Holmes. “Since this is the first case assessing what constitutes a ‘threat to reliability,’ sufficient to overcome the Clean Economy Act’s presumption against building new gas plants, we also hope the Commission will recognize that permitting Dominion to claim this narrow exception on flimsy evidence sets a bad precedent.” 

Dominion has said the project is critical to maintaining grid reliability. It would be the first of six gas plants the company has said in its integrated resource plan will be needed to meet rapidly growing demand, largely driven by energy-hungry data centers across the state. 

“We stand behind the SCC’s approval of the project. It was approved after a year of exhaustive review, an extensive public hearing and participation by thousands of Virginians,” Slayton said. 

The petition is now under review by the SCC, and it could be weeks or months before the appeal is resolved, depending on whether the commission requests additional briefing. 

This story originally appeared on VirginiaMercury.com