The Cumberland County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a conditional use permit for Dominion Energy to build what would be one of the largest natural gas-fueled power plants in the country.
The panel voted 3 to 1 to approve the Cumberland Energy Center permit after the county planning commission previously OK’d the plan.
Dozens of area residents spoke during the meeting — mostly in support of the proposal, citing potential jobs and tax revenues. But among those who voiced displeasure with the “multibillion-dollar project” was Katie Hoffman. She and several other speakers asked for the board to delay its vote.
“We're frustrated because it feels like Dominion is simply taken at its word with no real analysis of the figures on the scenarios that they present,” she said.
Others raised questions of over transmission lines, noise, water use and environmental concerns.
In December 2023, the county approved its most recent comprehensive plan, “an official statement of policy that provides guidance for the future physical development,” a county website indicates. The document designated the 150-acre parcel, part of a larger plot near the James River, where Dominion aims to build as “Agricultural/Rural Residential.”
Dominion expects the Cumberland project, which would generate about 3,000 MW, to create hundreds of jobs throughout the construction and operation phases, and contribute millions of dollars to the local and state economies. The utility’s also said that Virginia energy consumption could almost double by 2035.
“The proposed Cumberland Energy Center is a vital piece of our all-of-the-above strategy to meet our growing customer demand reliably and affordably by decreasing reliance on more costly purchases from the PJM market,” Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton wrote in an email.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, County Administrator Summer L. Medina described next steps for the project.
“The order of operations after the gas plant vote, if the Board approves the CUP, Dominion would then move forward with applying for and obtaining the necessary state permits,” she wrote in an email.
Depending on that process, the utility estimated construction could begin by 2029 and be completed by 2034.
Morgan Butler, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, told Radio IQ prior to the vote that allowing the development could create a precedent for rethinking the county’s comp plan if and when other requests are made.
He also questioned the Cumberland Energy Center’s potential impact on county residents.
“Should they be expecting their residents to shoulder the health burdens, the economic burdens of powering data centers that are located throughout the state?” Butler said.