Even though most of them agreed Grove residents have been ignored for too long, a divided James City County Planning Commission voted 4-2 Wednesday night to recommend approval of a massive battery storage facility on the abandoned BASF site.
The final decision on the 650-megawatt Taneska Energy site, which would store electricity during the day and release it during peak demand periods, is up to the county board of supervisors.
The majority’s reasoning was that the polluted BASF site could not be safely used to provide Grove with access to the James River, and the facility would provide tax revenue without making demands on county resources.
County Fire Chief Ryan Ashe told the board he felt confident the department could handle any emergencies after it develops a response plan with the company. That plan is contingent on the final technology decisions Taneska makes for the site, but would be developed before construction is approved, he said.
Commission Chair Kira Allman and at-large member Crystal Haskins voted against the facility because Grove community members were opposed to it.
“They have been disenfranchised for long enough,” Haskins said.
“It really is about agency to me,” said Allman. “We’ve heard numerous times that this community in Grove just hasn’t had their say in what happens in their own back yard, and that is frankly just unfair.”
Allman said she voted against the plan, even though she agreed it was a reasonable use for the polluted land, “to send that message to the Board of Supervisors -- that there are community objections.”
Several Grove residents spoke out against the Taneska facility at Tuesday’s hearing, saying they had safety and traffic concerns. But two members of the electrician’s union who do not live in Grove said it would provide good paying jobs while construction is under way.
“Grove has been on the short end of the stick in James City County,” agreed at-large member Jack Haldeman. He noted that while James City County has an expansive parks and recreation department, there was no park for the southeastern third of the county until a recent facility was launched in Grove.
But Haldeman said the Taneska facility had been very thoroughly thought out, would boost the county’s treasury by $3 million a year, and would not be heard or seen from residential areas. He and the rest of the board voted to recommend approval by the supervisors.