Editor’s note: This article was updated on Feb. 26, 2026, to clarify that the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will make a final decision on Tenaska’s special use permit, taking the Planning Commission’s vote into consideration.
The Fluvanna County Planning Commission has voted against granting Tenaska, a Nebraska-based energy company, a special use permit for its proposed second gas plant near Scottsville, adding another roadblock for the project.
At a Feb. 24 special meeting regarding requests from Tenaska, the Planning Commission took two votes.
The first was on whether to change the county ordinance to allow construction of smokestacks that are up to 230 feet in height. This, Tenaska representatives said, will meet the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s air modeling standards and allow for emissions to be distributed over a wider distance instead of concentrating around the plant. The commission approved that request in a 3-1 vote, with one member abstaining.
The second vote was for the special use permit required for the proposed plant. Commissioners unanimously rejected the request.
The vote is another blow to the project, following the commission’s Jan. 13 decision that the proposal is not aligned with the county’s comprehensive plan.
Some attendees at the January meeting said parts of the proposal fit with the county’s plan, such as the additional tax revenue the plant would bring, which is estimated to be $247 million in its lifetime. Some Fluvanna residents argued during the public comment period that the proposal did not align with other parts of the plan, such as the preservation of rural areas and clean air. Ultimately the commission voted 3-1 against.
Tenaska appealed the commission’s January decision, which will now be considered by the Board of Supervisors in March. The most recent votes will also be sent to the supervisors for final consideration.
Take action
Share your thoughts on the proposed Tenaska plant with the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors
The next Fluvanna Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 18. The location is still to be determined, but it will be posted on the county’s website.
Ahead of the meeting, you can submit your comments to the Board of Supervisors by using this “Two Cents” form.
Unlike the commission’s vote on the “substantial accord” in January, these votes are recommendations that will now move to the Board of Supervisors for final consideration, explained Mike Goad, a Board of Supervisors member and former member of the Planning Commission. Now all three requests, he said, will be decided at the board’s March 18 meeting.
“I would rather not speculate about anything with regard to the upcoming meeting, but that I appreciate the due diligence my former colleagues on the Planning Commission put into this and trust the BOS will do the same,” said Goad.
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More on the proposed gas plant in Fluvanna County
Tenaska files appeal after Fluvanna Planning Commission votes down gas plant proposal, citing incompatibility with comprehensive plan
The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors is planning to consider the appeal during their meeting on Mar. 18.
Residents raise concerns during Fluvanna County Planning Commission meeting, but fate of Tenaska gas plant to be decided by County Supervisors
“The executives making this decision do not live here,” said one mother during the public comment portion of the meeting. “They will not raise children here. They will not breathe this air, drink this water, or live with the health consequences of what they are proposing.”
Proposed Fluvanna gas plant could lead to new premature deaths and rising asthma rates, study finds
A Harvard study projects increased pollution and long-term health impacts across central Virginia.
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