New Power Plant Proposed for Prince William County

On March 18, 2008, the Washington Examiner revealed that LS Power is considering building a new power plant near Gainesville.

The Board of County Supervisors has already granted a 3-year option for the company to purchase the county's mulch-production site on Balls Ford Road. 

Every time Prince William residents throw a switch to turn on a light in our houses, we use electricity generated at a power plant.  Every time a new family moves into Prince William, we increase the demand for electricity.

But do we need a new power plant here?  Did you know that Prince William County already has a power plant that generates more power than we use?

At Possum Point near Dumfries, Dominion Power can generates "1,630 megawatts, or enough electricity to power 407,500 houses at peak demand" according to a Dominion spokesperson.

There are 135,000 housing units in Prince William now, so we are exporting power.  A new powerline will enable Possum Point to send more electricity to Delaware/New Jersey/New York.

That means Prince William County is already absorbing the impact of generating power for others.  The trade-off for convenient electrical power - production facilities generate pollution.

Power plants fueled by natural gas may produce different types of pollution compared to coal-fired or nuclear plants, but a new power plant in Gainesville will have local and regional impacts.

If we do build a new power plant in Prince William, we should also try to conserve energy.  The state/county should become far more "energized" in efforts to manage demand, as well as increase supply of electricity.  Then we could minimize the need for new power lines to import power from outside the region, or to build even more power plants.

Conservation has been endorsed by the General Assembly and the Governor.

The Virginia Energy Plan says "Energy efficiency and conservation provide the least costly and most readily deployable energy resource options available to Virginia."

In response to recent legislation, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) reported in November, 2007 that "the 10 percent electricity consumption reduction goal set forth by the General Assembly is achievable by 2022" Staff's Report to the State Corporation Commission in preparation for the Commission's Report to the Governor and the General Assembly, As Required by the Third Enactment Clause of SB 1416, Enacted as Chapter 933 of the 2007 Acts of the General Assembly.

On August 2, 2007, the Board of County Supervisors told the SCC "The cost effective reduction of electric energy by 10% over the next 15 years is a very achievable goal. Assuming the 10% goal is an absolute reduction of 2006 energy consumption levels, it should be considered a floor instead of a cap. Cost-effective reductions of 20% or more are possible and should be considered."

Bottom Line: conservation should be part of the solution, with or without a new power plant.

Before considering the power plant proposal to generate more energy, Prince William should complete its own conservation plan for county facilities, with a goal of reducing demand at schools and other buildings by up to 20%.

We told the state it could be done - so let's do it.