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Groundbreaking Held for Dominion Virginia Power Station

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.

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Brunswick County Welcomes Dominion Virginia Power

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.

Dominion Power Plant Construction Contractor Inventory Form

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:

  • Sanitary Facilities (portable toilets, pump & haul services)
  • Dumpsters
  • Paving
  • Chain Link Fencing
  • Mechanical (HVAC)
  • Telecommunications (voice & data)
  • Site Security
  • Electrical (miscellaneous wiring & testing)
  • Surveying

CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE NEWSPAPER AND THIS SITE FOR ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS!

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Brunswick County Power Station ok’d by Virginia State Corporation Commission

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.

IDA Issues Brunswick Correctional Center RFQ

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.

Redland Brick buys Lawrenceville Brick

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.

Dominion Virginia Power Proposes Building $1.1 Billion Power Station in Brunswick County

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

VA Gov Bob McDonnell and Dominion VA Power CEO Thomas F. Farrell II announce new energy plant

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.

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/.