N.J. Firm Might Put Power Plant in N.Va.

A New Jersey-based power company looking to break into the Northern Virginia market has secured a three-year option to build a natural gas plant in Prince William County.

LS Power paid $195,000 to option a 28-acre site in an industrial swath of the county. During the next three years, the company will apply for permits and study the site, about a half-mile from Interstate 66 and Manassas National Battlefield Park.

"As we pursue different markets, we are considering high-growth regions," said Matthew Held, the company's project development manager. LS Power hopes to convert the Prince William site into a 600-megawatt plant at a cost of $500 million, Held said.

The land, which the county bought in 1990 with plans to build its own power plant, is now a yard-waste compost facility and is worth $7.86 million, said John Schofield, research and marketing director for the county's Department of Economic Development.

"They have to do quite a lot of detailed engineering and technical work," Schofield said of LS Power. "It's quite a long, involved and expensive process for them to seek the permits they would need to operate the facility."

LS Power will have to apply for a permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and seek approval from the State Corporation Commission. It also will need a special-use permit from the county to operate a power plant, even though the site is designated for heavy industrial use.

The earliest a plant could be up and running is 2012.

Seven of the nine facilities LS Power operates across the country are natural gas plants. It also operates two coal plants and has three under development.

"This site is a confluence of sources of fuel for the power and a place to distribute the power," Schofield said of the transmission lines and electric substation that exist there. "It will likely sell natural gas on the wholesale market. It's possible some of the electric providers in Northern Virginia would buy power from them, but there are no guarantees."

The Board of County Supervisors approved the three-year option this month.

Prince William residents and landowners have galvanized in recent years, campaigning against a 65-mile power line proposed by Dominion Virginia Power that opponents say would spoil a historic landscape and contribute to global warming.

Kim Hosen, executive director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance, said LS Power's plan "is all a secret."

"The question is, why here?" she asked. "Prince William has its fair share of power plants. Our needs are met."

LS Power will hold community meetings and public hearings about the idea, Schofield said. "There will be ample opportunity for public edification and input," he said.

Held agreed, saying that the company is "not committed" to Prince William County but has simply secured the right to purchase the land.

"We are just exploring the feasibility at this stage," he said. "It's way too preliminary right now; we haven't planned out the project. We always have community engagement when we know what we want to propose."