Lunenburg supervisors approve Dominion Energy’s Unity substation with environmental and traffic conditions

The Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors on June 13 unanimously approved a conditional use permit for Virginia Electric and Power Company (doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia) to construct the Unity transmission substation southeast of Dusty Lane in Kenbridge.

Dominion Energy Senior Communication Specialist Max Payeur described the project as a new substation of about 11.73 acres that will tie an existing 500 kV line to a new 230 kV transmission line and improve grid reliability. Payeur said construction could begin within two to three weeks if the permit was approved and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025. He told the board the substation’s operational noise would be about 70–75 decibels and that, in his assessment, the facility should not affect nearby electricity or internet service.

The Planning Commission and county staff presented a detailed set of conditions approved with the permit. Key restrictions include a requirement that any battery energy storage system must receive a separate conditional use permit; permanent surveillance and electrical-system monitoring; full-cutoff, downward-directed exterior lighting; pre-construction and post-construction groundwater testing with annual tests for two years and further periodic review; seeding and revegetation with pollinator-friendly native plants; limits on land disturbance (no clearing on slopes greater than 8%); and a required herbicide land-application plan with buffer rules around wells and waterways.

Local impacts were further limited by conditions on work hours and deliveries: construction hours are restricted to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; deliveries by three-axle trucks or larger are limited to weekdays and are prohibited during local school peak travel times, with county-approved delivery routes; the permit also prohibits work on Sundays and requires easements and erosion-and-sediment-control plans and bonds.

Nearby resident Delbora Jones raised concerns about noise and heavy trucks and asked whether the project would interrupt utilities. Payeur responded that buffers and the anticipated noise level would mitigate impacts and that he did not expect the substation to affect electric or internet services to nearby homes. County officials also noted that notice to neighbors had been conducted by postcards and local outreach.

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval with the conditions and the Board of Supervisors followed that recommendation in a roll-call vote with all members voting yes. The permit requires ongoing compliance with the stated conditions and additional county review for any changes that depart from the approved conceptual plans.

The county’s zoning conditions also reserve the right to require bonds or other security if project ownership is transferred to an entity with a downgraded credit rating and require the applicant to provide education and emergency access information to local first responders.