Prince William Supervisors Reject Vint Hill Switching Station Expansion: Report

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA – Prince William County supervisors rejected Dominion Energy’s proposed $300 million upgrade to the Vint Hill Road switching station in Nokesville, according to a new report.

The Prince William Times reports that the vote to deny the utility a special use permit was unanimous, with supervisors criticizing Dominion for a lack of transparency about the project.

The upgrade would have added 500 kV transformers, new 230 kV infrastructure and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas insulating technology. The Prince William Times notes that changes would also include 135-foot power towers and two 40-foot-tall buildings.

Residents of neighborhoods near the switching station raised concerns about the project’s appearance, noise and potential for pollution, DC News Now reports.

Across Northern Virginia, power generation and transmission projects perceived to be serving data centers rather than communities have been met with increasing public opposition.

A spokesperson for Dominion Energy told Patch the utility is "disappointed" in the decision to reject what it called a "critical" project. "The project is needed to strengthen the transmission system, provide additional 500 kV capacity and relieve anticipated constraints on the existing system serving Prince William County. As electricity demand continues to grow, projects like Vint Hill are essential to maintaining reliable service for homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and other customers across the region." Dominion also said it had engaged with the county and community throughout the project and had offered design changes to address community concerns.

Dominion said it is evaluating its next steps.

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This story was updated to include comment from Dominion Energy.