Virginia SCC Approves “Racist” VNG Compressor in Chesapeake
Despite a “public outcry” (of 13 people), the Chesapeake City (Virginia) Council voted 6-3 last July to approve a compressor station for Virginia Natural Gas (see Chesapeake City Council Approves Va. NatGas Compressor Station). The proposed site is already zoned industrial and has other VNG operations already in place. It’s not like it’s being constructed in the middle of a neighborhood. However, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) hit the pause button on the project last August, to give the commission extra time to sift through the barrage of incoming lies that this compressor station is racist (see Virginia SCC Hits Pause on VNG Proposed Compressor in Chesapeake). It took six months, but the SCC released a final order on Tuesday approving the VNG compressor station project. Read More “Virginia SCC Approves “Racist” VNG Compressor in Chesapeake”
Several Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices, and the Center for Biological Diversity, have filed a legal challenge against a permit issued by Virginia for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate extension. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved a water permit for the project in January 2026. Big Green radicals argue that the pipeline “threatens” 138 streams, wetlands, and regional drinking water supplies. It’s the typical lawfare tactic used by the left to stall work on projects, hoping to delay them long enough that the builder (EQT in this case) gives up. Or if the builder won’t give up, they have to pay double or triple the price to construct it. That’s the game the radicals are playing. 
The far-left Southern Environmental Law Center, representing three radical nonprofits, has appealed the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) approval of Dominion Energy’s $1.47 billion natural gas plant in Chesterfield County. The challenge is the first under both the Virginia Environmental Justice Act and the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Antis argue the 1,000-megawatt facility would disproportionately “harm” marginalized communities through increased pollution and significant health risks, including premature deaths. Critics maintain that Dominion failed to prioritize renewable alternatives or demonstrate a genuine threat to grid reliability, potentially placing unnecessary financial and health burdens on the public. 
In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see 
Virginia Senate Bill 253, introduced by State Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), aims to shift energy infrastructure costs from residents to data centers, potentially saving households a whopping $65 annually. The legislation requires data centers—which account for 20% of Dominion Energy’s sales—to fund their own electrical substations and cover specific “capacity costs.” If the bill becomes law and the proposals in it receive approval from the State Corporation Commission (SCC), the typical monthly energy bill for data centers would rise by about 16%, while the typical bill for residential and other customers would decrease by 3% to 3.5%. Looks like Virginia, with more data centers than any other state in the union, is now closed for data center business. Too bad. 
Two pipeline kingpins are engaged in a deathmatch with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get their competing pipeline projects approved. One is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project (see 
Last November, Accomack County, Virginia, secured a $6.5 million state grant to expand piped natural gas to the Eastern Shore, a move aimed at stabilizing the local economy (see 
In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see 
Great news about another new gas-fired power plant coming to Virginia—a plant that will use Marcellus/Utica molecules. Red Post Energy Group and Wise Innovation Hub Venture (OASIS) have signed a Letter of Intent to develop power infrastructure for a major technology and data center hub in Wise County, Virginia, in the southwestern corner of the state. Known as the Maverick Project, this phased initiative aims for a total capacity of 600 megawatts, beginning with an initial 100-megawatt phase. 
Democrats in Virginia are experiencing political ecstasy at the prospect of reversing four years of common-sense energy policies under outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin. Gov. Youngkin removed the state from the odious Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. Incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger has pledged to re-enroll the state in the program. Youngkin vetoed bills that would have favored unreliable renewable energy. Now, the Dems will not only have Spanberger as Governor, but hardened leftist Ghazala Hashmi as Lt. Governor, and a strong majority in both chambers of the legislature. They are already planning to reintroduce bills favoring renewables and blocking new data centers. It’s a crying shame what Virginia has done in electing these radicals to lead it. 
We suppose it’s no surprise that left-wing Congressional Democrats from North Carolina and Virginia are attacking two natural gas pipeline projects that are close to final approval and the start of construction. One project is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project. Both projects would be built in the same general area, starting at the same point near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Both have customers ready to take their gas. Southgate recently received a favorable environmental assessment (EA) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see 
As MDN previously reported, TC Energy’s Virginia Reliability Project (VRP) in the Hampton Roads region (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News area) started construction in the second quarter of this year. It held a ceremony in September to commemorate the final weld (see