CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors has approved the new 1500-megawatt natural gas-powered Tenaska power plant, despite the Planning Commission ruling it was not in accordance with the county’s long-term comprehensive plan.

Nebraska-based Tenaska pledged to mitigate traffic concerns during construction, and agreed to more stringent air standards among other provisions, to gain the approval.

Meeting into the early hours of Thursday morning, the Board approved a number of motions greenlighting what Tenaska calls Project Expedition.

The board votes on the motions were 4-1, with only Cunningham District Supervisor Chris Fairchild voting “no” on the project, which will be built in his district.

Opponents argue the plant causes health risks for those who live near it and that it creates an unreasonable amount of noise.

Following the votes, some power plant opponents were ordered removed from the Fluvanna County High School auditorium where the meeting took place by Board Chair and Rivanna District Supervisor Tony O’Brien after they loudly protested.

“My family has been in this county in farming for over 150 years and I am embarrassed. I am sad and I am embarrassed,” Lake Monticello resident Tracey Smith told the board. “My daughter got up here and spoke to you and she doesn’t know if this is somewhere that she wants to continue to live, where my family has been I don’t know if she wants to continue to be here. I am embarrassed.”

Tenaska currently operates a plant off Branch Road, opened in 2004, that generates 1,000-megawatts of daily electricity.

O’Brien explained his support for the project saying, “The PJM grid is no-joke thing. It’s a real thing, and there are real problems with the grid from the standpoint of growth that’s being put in place.”

He mentioned what happened in Texas with its power grid several years ago was brought up in a town hall he held along with Vice Chair and Palmyra Supervisor Timothy Hodges where O’Brien said almost 700 people died in association with that failure.

“When you talk about economic stability and the potential for attracting business and growth, Virginia would not be a very good place to do business if you knew you were going to have rolling brownouts or grid failures at play,” O’Brien said. “It is kind of substantial from that standpoint.”

He also touted the economic benefits the county will receive from the power plant that exceeds other projects of its type.

“You look at the totality the $250 million in tax revenue and I think that is just for the value of the plant, and the conditions that we have put in place and have been offered by Tenaska is probably another $18-to-$20 million, is a very significant improvement that will make a difference in the taxpayer’s life in Fluvanna County,” he said.

O’Brien said, “It was asked, ‘What about the water and what’s going to happen with the water and the costs associated with that?’ And – true – there are costs, but if you were to look at bringing in water from any part of the county, there would be costs associated to it for the county.”

Some of the more than 50 provisions Tenaska has agreed to is funding first responders, as well as money to a Good Neighbor Fund for any currently unforeseen costs of issues within the two-mile parameter of Branch Road facility.

Tenaska has agreed to pay full costs of a roundabout at Route 53 (Thomas Jefferson Parkway) and Ruritan Lake Road prior to the new construction beginning rather than a capped cost for which anything over $6.5 million would have to be paid by the county.

O’Brien thanked the Planning Commission for its work in identifying issues that needed to be further mitigated to make the Expedition project acceptable for the county.

One issue he highlighted is the EPA standard which the Trump Administration altered, and the county was able to negotiate air standards to the levels before the current Administration’s change.

Fairchild expressed concerns some of the new provisions and covenants had not been previously publicly discussed, and he has legal concerns about the path moving forward.

O’Brien pointed out Fairchild and everyone else is aware they’ve been guided legally not just by the County Attorney’s office, but outside legal counsel Sands Anderson.