RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Virginia Power, a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D),will seek regulatory approval in early 2011 to build a new natural gas-fired power station in northwestern Virginia with the approval last week of the station's air permit.

The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board unanimously approved the permit Friday for the 1,300-megawatt, combined cycle Warren County Power Station near Front Royal.

Pamela F. Faggert, chief environmental officer, said: "We appreciate the board's thorough consideration and approval. Warren County Power Station has been designed to operate with clean natural gas and with the best air pollution control technologies available. Our emissions will be controlled to levels that are considered to be the lowest achievable."

Dominion reached an accord with the National Park Service by addressing environmental considerations for the nearby Shenandoah National Park during the air permit process. The company volunteered to retire its 74-megawatt, coal-fired North Branch Power Station in West Virginia prior to the start-up of the proposed power station as part of the accord.

David Christian, chief executive officer of Dominion Generation, said: "With the mitigation plan reached with the National Park Service, we believe that a net environmental benefit will be created in the Shenandoah National Park and surrounding areas. If approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the Warren County Power Station will provide clean, reliable and affordable energy to meet the state's growing demand for electricity."

Dominion plans to complete and begin operating the Warren County facility in late 2014 or early 2015, pending Virginia State Corporation Commission approval. The power station is designed to be a 3-on-1, combined-cycle facility, with three gas-fired combustion turbines and one steam turbine. The station would generate enough electricity to serve about 325,000 homes.

The station is a component of the company's strategy to meet the projected need for 5,600 megawatts of new capacity by 2019 in the Dominion service area as identified by PJM Interconnection, the regional independent operator of the transmission system in 13 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,600 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 13 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com. 

SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power