Planning Commission Meeting
Vint Hill GIS Substation
September 10
7:00 pm
McCoart Building, Woodbridge
Send an email asking the Planning Commission to DENY the Vint Hill GIS substation application.
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Dear Coalition Friends and Supporters,
We have a confession to make. Some blast emails write themselves. But others, well, they can be confounding. This is one of those times. So, stick with us as we work to connect the dots for you.
Next week there are two votes, one for the Bristow Data Center Campus at the Board of Supervisors on September 9th – followed the VERY NEXT NIGHT by a Planning Commission vote on the Vint Hill Gas Insulated Substation on September 10th.
What we realized, while putting this message together, is that a previous blast email had ALL the impacts wrapped into one message.
Here is a screen shot from an email we sent on July 9th about the Vint Hill GIS substation, the Bristow data center campus, AND the Nokesville transmission line:
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Data center demand brings first gas substation to Nokesville | News | fauquier.com
“The upgrade is necessary because western Prince William County’s rising demand for electricity — driven almost exclusively by data centers — will soon tap out the power delivered via the closest 500-kilovolt-fed substation, which is in Fauquier County, according to Dominion Energy documents filed with Prince William County.”
“Leaks from sulfur hexafluoride will be the gift we leave to our descendants — not (just) our grandchildren. Not (just) our grandchildren’s grandchildren,” Ward said.”
“Europe is phasing out the gas, and California has already started to ban it on certain equipment, Ward said. This would be the first substation of this type in Prince William County.”
“Dominion Energy does not yet have an estimate for how much the substation will cost because it is still “conceptual,” Khan said.
The price will be paid by all Dominion and NOVEC customers, according to Virginia law.”
Here’s a video of our conversation with a Dominion Energy engineer about GIS substations at the Dominion Energy July 10 open house:
https://youtu.be/GDm_WoXJmJw?si=-FBFMMcHib3V2r0O
Here is what should stand out to you.
- The Dominion Rep has no answer to cost estimate for this very expensive Gas Insulated Substation, and yet they are ready to submit to the SCC?
- When asked what experience does Dominion Energy have with this type of substation, the Dominion Rep very confidently replies, “Daves Store Substation.”
You know what should concern you, and every other resident in Virginia who must trust Dominion Energy, our monopoly utility?
They were 100% wrong about Daves Store Substation as an example of their Gas Insulated Substation experience. How do we know this? Daves Store is not even a gas insulated substation — and it hasn’t even been built!
See Dominion’s own page: Daves Store
Who is burdened with the data center building itself, the transmission lines, the substations, the noise, the diesel fumes, the water impacts,
and finally, the exponentially rising utility bills? For some in our community, they will be forced to check EVERY. SINGLE. BOX
DATA CENTERS ARE INEXORABLY LINKED TO NEW TRANSMISSION LINES, SUBSTATIONS, AND RISING ELECTRICITY BILLS.
So here we are, asking our community once again, to step up, to speak up, to send petitions — because our elected leaders are failing us.
We hope this makes it crystal clear: This Board MUST defer the Bristow Campus on Tuesday night, September 9 — AND the Planning Commission MUST deny the Vint Hill Substation on Wednesday night, September 10.
Why are we recommending denial by the Planning Commission on September 10th for the Vint Hill Substation? Because we have questions. AND we believe the Board of County Supervisors needs to deal with and be held responsible for the consequences of their data center votes.
With a vote to DENY by the PLANNING COMMISSION, this substation application will then have to go before the Board of Supervisors – for THEIR consideration. The Board needs to face the community – and this truth: Without their approvals of data centers, we wouldn’t be faced with so many substations. Substations and transmission lines are now piling up in Prince William County!
Watch this Channel 9 News Story from two days ago.
Google invests $9B in Virginia data centers expansion | wusa9.com
“Gov. Youngkin, I invite you to go on a tour with me and talk to the people that are actually dealing with the “investment” of all of these data centers,” said Elena Schlossberg, the Executive Director for the Coalition to Protect Prince William County.
“She said that as Virginia adds more and more data centers, residents are paying a price.”
Please note and take action:
1) Bristow Campus – Board vote September 9 – Sign email today to Board of Supervisors if you haven’t already!
2) Vint Hill Substation – Planning Commission vote September 10 – Sign email TODAY to Planning Commissioners
3) Speak virtually on September 10 – Sign up (Available Thursday, September 4 until 5 PM on Tuesday, September 9 for sign-up)
Access the Planning Commission Public Facilities Review document here
Access more information about this project here: Vint Hill Expansion Project
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