The Brunswick County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance to
repeal the Merchants’ Capital Tax effective Jan. 1, 2017. The
supervisors held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance amendment on
Wednesday, June 17, and no one spoke in opposition and several people
spoke in favor of repealing the tax.
Scott Martin, chair of the Economic Development Authority of
Lawrenceville, said the authority fully supports the adoption of an
ordinance to amend the merchant’s capital tax in Brunswick County.
“In the view of the EDA, this tax acts as a deterrent to attracting
new industry into our county. It also may become a determining factor
for those present businesses who may be considering whether to remain in
Brunswick County. Brunswick is a prime location for businesses such as
distribution centers, however, considering that many of the surrounding
counties do not have this tax, it leaves Brunswick without much hope of
attracting these facilities,” Martin stated. “Considering the relatively
small revenue garnered from this tax and the future revenue anticipated
with the completion of the Dominion plant and the pipeline, we see this
as the most opportune time to be considering this move. It is our hope
that you will proceed with the elimination of the merchants’ capital tax
at this time.”
FREEMAN – Friday, May 16, 2014 was a great day for Brunswick County
and Southside Virginia. State and county officials joined Dominion
Virginia Power employees to break ground on the Brunswick County Power
Station now under construction on Governor Harrison Parkway.
Dan Genest, Media Relations/ Generation for Dominion, said when
completed in 2016 the Brunswick County Power Station will produce almost
1,360 megawatts of electricity – enough to power nearly 340,000
households. The station will use combined-cycle technology, an energy
efficient method that recaptures waste heat to produce more electricity.
The facility will be powered by clean, economical natural gas, a fuel
with outstanding environmental qualities, including lower carbon
emissions.
Genest said with natural gas as its fuel, the station is expected to
save customers more than $1 billion over its expected life compared with
the next-best option for supplying power
“This is not just a good morning, this is a great morning for
Brunswick County and the region,” said Senator Frank Ruff, 15th
District, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Virginia Tobacco
Commission.
In a light-hearted manner, Ruff said he thought he was the only
person that Dominion Virginia Power told when it decided to locate in
Brunswick County.
The Brunswick County Board of Supervisors and the Industrial
Development Authority welcomes Dominion Virginia Power to Brunswick
County.
Dominion Virginia Power plans to construct a $1.1 billion
combined-cycle, natural gas fired power station in Brunswick County that
will generate electricity for customers by the summer of 2016.
The Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority is working with Fluor Construction to secure business for local contractors and employment for local residents as much as possible during the construction of the Brunswick County Dominion Power Plant. The first step is the creation of an inventory that local businesses/contractors can use to identify themselves as capable of providing the contracting, goods, or services needed by Fluor during construction. As Fluor informs the IDA of additional opportunities that can be met locally, they will be listed on the IDA website.
Businesses and contractors can fill out a Contractor Inventory Form online; click here to access the “Contractor Inventory Form.”
For businesses/contractors not having access to a computer, one will be
available at the IDA’s office, 116 W. Hicks St., Lawrenceville.
The IDA will forward information from the inventory to Fluor
representatives on a regular basis. Fluor will conduct its own review
according to its prequalification standards and directly procure
contractors, goods, and services as needed.
At this time, the IDA is interested in receiving information from businesses/contractors that can provide the following:
Dominion
Virginia Power received permission from the Virginia State Corporation
Commission on Aug. 2, 2013, to construct a 1,358-megawatt, natural gas
fueled power station near Lawrenceville in Brunswick County. The
combined cycle, natural gas-fired power station will serve growing
customer demand and replace electricity from aging coal-fired power
stations that are being retired for economic and environmental reasons.
Dominion plans to start construction immediately with commercial service expected to begin in the summer of 2016.
The total cost of the station is $1.3 billion. During the development
and construction period, the station will generate about $824 million
in economic benefits for the state, according to a study done for
Dominion. Over the course of construction the workforce will average
about 380 workers annually. Once complete, the station will provide
43-full time, permanent jobs and pay about $4 million a year in local
property taxes.
The commission also approved a Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity for transmission interconnection facilities needed to tie the
station to the gird and a rate adjustment clause, Rider BW, which will
allow the company to recover costs of the project. The initial increase
in the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000
kilowatt-hours of electricity would be 81 cents, effective Sept. 1,
2013.
The transmission facilities include a 13.5-mile long
500kv transmission line that will connect the station to an existing
transmission line.
In the first full year of the station’s operation Dominion expects
there will be fuel savings of about $96 million. Those fuel savings will
continue over time. In addition, the station is expected to save
customers an additional $1 billion over its expected life compared with
the next-best option for supplying power.
The Brunswick County IDA has issued a Request for Qualifications to
find a development consultant to assist in developing plans and
obtaining a master developer for the adaptive reuse of the Brunswick
Correctional Center that was closed in 2009. This is an important step
in efforts to make this property an active contributor to the Brunswick
County economy again.
The County Administrator and IDA Executive Director have been working
nonstop since March 31, 2010 as part of a team that included local and
State elected officials, as well as government senior staff, which was
formed to find a way to put the Brunswick Correctional Center property
back into use. The Department of Corrections and Virginia Economic
Development Partnership (VEDP) continue to work in close partnership
with the County and IDA to move this project forward.
Board of Supervisors Member Barbara Jarrett Drummond, who has been at
the forefront of this issue since the State government made the
decision to close the facility, is glad to see this step taken; but very
concerned about how our community continues to suffer economically from
the closing. She said, “I am very grateful for the working partnership
and attempts that have been made by the local and State government
leaders to re-use the Brunswick Correctional Center and I hope the
effort now underway with the RFQ to redevelop the site into commerce and
industry will bring stronger, long-term benefits to the community.”
The RFQ has been structured and advertised in major newspapers to
obtain responses from consulting firms with strong experience in the
redevelopment of large tract institutional sites. The kind of
experience sought is that other localities around the State with similar
projects and closed military bases have successfully used.
The Brunswick Correctional Center is located in the Sturgeon Election
District so Board of Supervisors Member Marc Finney has kept a close
eye on the progress made on this project. He said, “This 760 acres
property has the potential to be an economic development spark plug that
brings badly needed jobs and tax revenue to our community. I commend
the County Administrator and IDA Executive Director for their tireless
work and I will continue to support this effort in every way I can.”
The deadline for submitting a response to the RFQ is October 19, 2011
and a final selection process has been outlined to have a consulting
firm begin work in late December 2011.
Lawrenceville Brick has been making quality brick products in
Brunswick County for more than 60 years and now it is moving into a new
era. The company was incorporated in Brunswick County in 1946 as Brick
and Tile Corporation of Lawrenceville. It was founded by three local
businessmen who invited a small number of other investors in the area to
join them in the new venture. The company announced in July that
Redland Brick Company, a division of Ohio based Belden Brick Company,
has acquired control of the manufacturing and sales.
Redland Brick Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Belden Holding
and Acquisition Company, Inc. and is headquartered in Williamsport
Maryland. Redland operates four brick manufacturing plants including
Cushwa Brick and Rocky Ridge Brick in Maryland, Harmar Brick in
Pennsylvania and KF Brick in Connecticut. Redland produces a wide range
of products, featuring both molded and extruded styles. Parent company
Belden Brick was organized in Canton, Ohio in 1885 by Henry S. Belden
and four associates. The Belden Brick Company is the sixth largest
brick manufacturer in the United States.
Project Would be Single Largest Economic Development Project in County’s History
600 Jobs Would be Created During Construction; 30 Permanent
Positions; Economic Impact in County of $73 million a Year During
Construction; $30 Million a Year After
RICHMOND –
Governor Bob McDonnell joined Dominion chairman, president and chief
executive officer Thomas F. Farrell II, local Brunswick County
officials and legislators from the region as the company announced
today that its Dominion Virginia Power subsidiary will propose building
a $1.1 billion combined-cycle, natural gas-fired power station in
Brunswick County that will generate electricity for customers by the
summer of 2016.
Speaking about the proposal, the Governor noted, “The proposed
Brunswick County Power Station has the potential to be the largest
single economic development project in the history of Brunswick County.
The Station will create good paying jobs for local residents, both
during construction and after. And it will generate cleaner energy to
help meet the increasing demands of our growing Commonwealth in the
years ahead. This is a positive announcement for the economy of Southern
Virginia, and for the energy needs of the entire state.”
“The Brunswick County site offers us an ideal location to generate
electricity to serve Southside Virginia and Hampton Roads reliably and
will help us close the gap of 4,000 megawatts in peak demand that our
customers are expected to need within the next decade,” Tom Farrell
said.
“We expect this highly efficient new power station will provide
savings for our customers much the same as we are seeing from the
smaller Bear Garden Power Station that went online last summer in
Buckingham County. This also is the best, most cost-effective and
reliable way to meet the latest federal clean-air standards.”
Artist’s rendering of proposed energy plant.
From Dominion Virginia Power
Dominion expects to ask the Virginia State Corporation Commission
later this year for permission to build the Brunswick County Power
Station. With a generating capacity of more than 1,300 megawatts, the
station would produce enough electricity to power more than 325,000
homes. Output from the Brunswick County facility would replace the
electricity generated by coal units at two eastern Virginia stations
that are planned to be closed for economic reasons and to help meet
customers’ growing demand for electricity.
Dominion announced last September that it would likely close older
coal-fired units at Chesapeake Energy Center in Chesapeake and at
Yorktown Power Station. It is more cost-effective to close the units
than install emissions control equipment necessary to meet new federal
environmental regulations. The change from coal to natural gas to meet
customer needs will result in a net environmental benefit for the
Commonwealth.
PJM Interconnection LLC, the regional transmission organization that
coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13
states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, reported in
its annual forecast that customers will demand 4,000 megawatts more of
electricity from Dominion during peak demand in 2022 than it does
today.
If approved by state regulators, Brunswick County Power Station would
be built on a 205-acre site on U.S. Route 58 east of Lawrenceville. It
would be the largest single economic development project ever in the
county. At least 600 workers would be on site at the peak of
construction. The station will provide about 30 full-time jobs and pay
annual property taxes of between $3.5 and $4 million when operational.
Dominion already has received the necessary conditional use permits
from the Brunswick County Board of Supervisors to build the station and
has applied to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for the
air permit.
Dominion is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of
energy, with a portfolio of approximately 28,000 megawatts of
generation, 11,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and
storage pipeline and 6,300 miles of electric transmission lines.
Dominion operates the nation’s largest natural gas storage system with
947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy
customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the
company’s website at http://www.dom.com/.
