Virginia State Corporation Commission said in a final order dated February 24 that it has granted the construction of the facility which will provide backup fuel supply for Dominion’s Greensville County and Brunswick County power stations.
In June 2024, Dominion filed its application to amend the certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCNs) for the two power stations to construct and operate the LNG facility and related transmission facilities adjacent to Greensville.
Brunswick is a 1,358 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired combined-cycle electric generating facility located in Brunswick County that entered commercial operations in April 2016.
Moreover, Greensville is a 1,588 MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle electric generating
facility located in Greensville County that entered commercial operations in December 2018.
Dominion said that together, the stations generate enough electricity to power over 700,000 homes.
2027
Dominion plans to build the LNG storage facility on 20 acres owned by the company – directly adjacent to the Greensville station, while Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative will provide retail electric service to the storage facility.
Natural gas from the Transco pipeline that currently serves the station will be liquefied on site, stored in the facility and turned back into gas for use in the event of an emergency fuel shortage at Greensville County and Brunswick County power stations, it said.
Also, the facility would provide approximately 2 billion cubic feet of LNG storage capacity, 15 million standard cubic feet per day of liquefaction capacity, and 500 mmscfd of regasification capacity.
When at full capacity, the facility would enable both stations to operate at full load for about four days, or keep one station operating at full load for about eight days, according to Dominion.
The firm previously said that the total estimated costs are about $547 million.
Dominion anticipates that the LNG storage facility would commence operations during the fourth quarter of 2027.
It’s worth mentioning here that Dominion sold its 50 percent non-controlling limited partner interest in Cove Point LNG, to Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2023.
The deal was worth $3.3 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy, via BHE GT&S, now has a total ownership interest of 75 percent.
A subsidiary of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners holds the remaining 25 percent limited partnership interest in Cove Point LNG.
The plant has a storage capacity of 14.6 billion cubic feet and a daily sendout capacity of 1.8 bcf, or about 5.25 million tons of LNG per year coming from one liquefaction unit.
