Fluvanna planning commission recommends denial of Expedition/Tenaska gas-fired plant SUP

The Fluvanna County Planning Commission voted 5-0 on Feb. 24 to recommend denial of Special Use Permit 25:04, a request from Expedition Generation Holdings (Tenaska Project Expedition) to construct a gas-fired electric generation facility on approximately 414.05 acres in the Cunningham District.

The motion to recommend denial, moved by Chair Barry Bibb and seconded by Commissioner Kathleen Kilpatrick, followed public comment from many residents both opposing and supporting the project and a presentation of revised SUP conditions that grew from 31 to 45 items. Commissioners said they considered noise mitigation, traffic impacts, conservation commitments and other guarantees but ultimately voted unanimously to recommend denial to the Board of Supervisors.

The proposed facility would have been sited on Tax Map 27‑A‑1 (165 acres) with Tax Map 27‑A‑4 (249.05 acres) used as a construction laydown area to be restored to natural area afterward. The applicant also described plans to acquire up to roughly 354.82 additional acres south of the project site and place conservation easements on those parcels to serve as natural and recreational areas.

County staff and outside consultants identified and negotiated a lengthy set of SUP conditions. Significant components discussed at the meeting included: noise attenuation measures tied to Leq limits (rather than L90), baseline sound testing prior to a commercial operation date, third‑party acoustical testing by an Institute of Noise Control Engineers‑certified practitioner paid by the applicant, remedies and monetary penalties for repeated or uncorrected sound exceedances, and restrictions on high-noise construction activities. Traffic measures were amended to require a construction traffic management plan and applicant reimbursement for county traffic studies; the applicant offered funding of up to $5,500,000 for roadway improvements at the intersection of Route 53 and Route 619. Other conditions included an applicant‑submitted decommissioning plan subject to county approval, a security plan to be provided to the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office, and an abandonment clause stating the SUP may be deemed abandoned if the use is not initiated within two years of approval.

The packet also describes restrictive covenants that would limit impervious surface coverage on the restricted property to 13% of gross acreage, allow above‑ground utility lines within a 250‑foot easement to serve the plant, and establish a "Good Neighbor Fund" with a stated minimum amount of $5,000,000 plus a separate "first responder contribution" of $5,000,000 toward a new fire/EMS station and sheriff’s department needs. County staff noted that water for power generation would be drawn from surface waters, with only limited groundwater use for employee facilities.

The Commission’s decision follows an earlier Jan. 13, 2026 vote in which the Commission determined, by a 3‑1 vote with one member absent, that the project was not in substantial accord with the County’s Comprehensive Plan; the applicant has appealed that determination to the Board of Supervisors. The Board is scheduled to hear the appeal on March 18, 2026. The planning commission record and the staff packet list the revised SUP conditions and outside reviews by the Berkley Group and Sands Anderson.

Public comment at the meeting included numerous named residents speaking both in opposition and in support of the proposal. The minutes record the names and addresses of those who spoke but do not include verbatim testimony in the body of the minutes. The planning commission’s recommendation to deny is advisory; the final decision rests with the Board of Supervisors, which will consider the SUP and the pending appeal.