CHESTERFIELD, VA: At 3:00 PM on Sunday, February 25, Virginia State Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-10) will host a community town hall about Dominion Energy’s proposal to build a massive methane gas plant in Chesterfield near the James River. The Senator will invite representatives from Friends of Chesterfield and environmental organizations to speak alongside representatives from Dominion, before allowing members of the community to ask questions.

WHAT: Town Hall Meeting on the Chesterfield Gas Plant

WHEN: Sunday, February 25, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM ET

WHERE: Beulah Recreation Center, 6901 Hopkins Road, North Chesterfield, VA 23234

WHO: 

• • Host: Virginia State Senator Ghazala Hashmi

• • Speakers:
    • • Representatives of Dominion Energy
    • • Representatives of Friends of Chesterfield and partners
        • • Jason Woodby, Friends of Chesterfield Founding Board Member.
        • • Glen Besa; Friends of Chesterfield, Founding Board Member, and Sierra Club, Volunteer.
        • • Aliya Farooq; Friends of Chesterfield, Founding Board Member, and Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, Board Member.
        • • Rachel James; Associate Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center.

• • Community members will be invited to ask questions

VISUALS: Concerned activists will flood the room wearing bright t-shirts. 

RUN OF SHOW: 

• • Welcome and introductions – Senator Hashmi

• • Dominion Energy will give a 15-minute presentation on the proposed gas plant

• • Environmental justice advocates offer a 15-minute presentation on their views

• • Questions from the audience

• • Conclusion – Senator Hashmi

RSVP: Click HERE to RSVP

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Opposition is growing to Dominion Energy’s plans to build a gas plant called the “Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center” that would build four new gas generators totaling 1,000 MW of nameplate capacity. The plant is emblematic of Dominion’s continued efforts to profit from new fossil fuel infrastructure despite a state-level mandate that the company achieve zero-emissions by 2045. It is a key part of Dominion’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which itself has come under fire for focusing on expensive, unnecessary fossil fuels. In fact, on December 8, the Virginia State Corporation Commission Hearing Examiner recommended the state agency reject Dominion Energy’s energy plan. Senior Hearing Examiner A. Ann Berkebile stated that she does “not recommend the Commission find the 2023 IRP to be reasonable and in the public interest.” Energy analysts with the consulting firm Gabel Associates recently released a report detailing how Dominion Energy can meet its projected growth in demand for electricity while improving compliance with the Virginia Clean Economy Act, where the Chesterfield project is not necessary.

The timing of this town hall is pivotal as the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors deliberates a final decision on the project, which is expected to come in late April. 

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.