Dominion Energy is proposing to build a massive 3-gigawatt methane gas power plant in Cumberland County, Virginia, known as the Cumberland Energy Center. If permitted and built, this power plant would be the largest in Virginia and the second-largest in the entire United States. Such an enormous gas plant will degrade air and water quality in the region. 

The proposed power plant would be located on nearly 1,000 acres in northern Cumberland County, in an area zoned for agriculture near the James River and in close proximity to Buckingham, Fluvanna and Goochland counties. 

Cumberland is a rural county with roughly 10,000 residents. It is home to Cumberland State Forest and Bear Creek Lake State Park, and it has miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails, as well as opportunities for fishing and paddling. The county is bordered on the north by the James River. The Department of Environmental Quality’s Virginia EJScreen+ tool confirms that the site of the proposed power plant is an environmental justice community that faces greater-than-average exposure to pollution or environmental hazards and often has fewer resources or less political power to prevent or address those harms.

The power plant is largely being proposed to meet soaring electricity demand from data centers. Dominion has stated that 99% of its new peak demand will come from data centers by 2030. The proposed Cumberland Energy Center would be capable of powering the equivalent of 750,000 homes, but the roughly 4,000 households in rural Cumberland County would have to live with the dirtier air, health impacts, noise and traffic it will cause.

Known Impacts of the Cumberland Energy Center

Dominion submitted its conditional-use permit application to Cumberland County on June 26, shedding light on the massive proposed power plant and its impacts.   

Water impacts

The conditional-use permit application states the power plant would consume an average of 800,000 gallons of water per day. Dominion representatives said it could be as high as 2 million gallons per day. The permit application names the Cobbs Creek Reservoir, officially known as the Virgil R. Hazelett Reservoir at Cobbs Creek, as the plant’s water source. For context, Cumberland County’s roughly 10,000 residents use only 1.4 million gallons per day. The proposed power plant could use almost one-and-a-half times more than all of Cumberland’s households combined! Dominion’s conditional-use permit application also notes the presence of significant wetlands on the proposed site. The site was surveyed for wetlands during drought conditions, which means wetlands present on the proposed site could be underrepresented.

Wildlife impacts

A number of species listed by the state or federal governments as threatened and endangered are known or suspected to live near the proposed power plant, including James River spinymussels, green floaters, Atlantic pigtoes, brook floaters and monarch butterflies. 

The water used to cool a power plant can get as hot as 95 degrees Fahrenheit, according to research. The James River spinymussel can only survive temperatures up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit and experience physiological stress at temperatures above 77 degrees. There is also a federally protected bald eagle nest located on the proposed project site, and several adult bald eagles have been seen in the area. 

Unanswered questions

The conditional-use permit application also raises many more questions. It notes that Columbia Gas of Virginia will supply the proposed power plant with methane gas, but no pipeline has yet been proposed or is listed on the site plans. Whose properties and what waterways and other sensitive places would be impacted by the pipeline? 

Water is expected to be withdrawn from Cobbs Creek Reservoir, but it’s unclear where the intake location would be, whose property would be impacted by water lines to serve the power plant and where wastewater from the power plant would be discharged. 

The air pollution emission projections aren’t yet available but, given the scale of this power plant, they are likely to be incredibly high. We know that gas plants can emit hundreds or thousands of tons of dangerous air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5. Because PM2.5 is extremely small, these tiny particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs and can enter the bloodstream. Exposure to PM2.5 can lead to respiratory illnesses, impact cardiovascular health, and contribute to heart attacks and premature deaths. There is no safe level of PM2.5 exposure.

Community opposition to the Cumberland Energy Center

The communities in Cumberland County and neighboring Fluvanna and Buckingham counties are standing up to fight against Dominion’s massive proposed power plant and are organizing their neighbors. At the planning commission meetings in July and August, members of the community let their commissioners know that this power plant isn’t welcome. Cumberland County’s roughly 10,000 residents shouldn’t have to sacrifice their health, environmental quality and their community so that Dominion can serve data center demand with one of the nation’s largest dirty gas plants.