A New Era for the Dickerson Power Plant Property Terra Energy, a subsidiary of Terra Innovations Inc., recently bought 740 acres at the site of the Dickerson power plant and waste incinerator. About two-thirds of that land is in the Ag Reserve. Terra Innovations describes itself as a “real estate development and asset management firm started in Montgomery County” that “focuses on the creative development of challenging or unusual properties.” The 740 acres encompasses two zoning categories: Heavy Industrial (HI) and Agricultural Reserve (AR). Some 255 acres are currently zoned HI and 485 acres are zoned AR. Most of the former coal fired power plant property is sited on the HI zoned land. It has been idle for three years. A mix of support buildings, utility facilities, power lines, access roads, railroad tracks, and additional uses exists on both HI and AR lands for this property and the adjacent sites. Terra’s owners shared with SCA their preliminary 3-part vision for developing the property. They seek first to demolish the coal fired plant and its associated structures after salvaging, recycling, and reusing what they can from it. Their plan is to retain all existing energy-related infrastructure, some of which is owned by the local utility company, Gen-On. Terra Energy’s aim and hope is to find a solar energy company to lease an as-yet unspecified amount of land to build a large-scale (100 to 130 acres) ground-based solar panel installation. The solar energy produced would be sold into the regional power grid. In the company’s description, such a facility would “help the county and state reach renewable energy goals and support the transition from fossil fuels.” Terra’s second goal for the property is an energy storage facility—again, to be operated by a company that specializes in such systems and would lease the land long-term. This proposed facility would store energy produced by the solar array and, according to Terra, provide grid stabilization as energy production transitions away from fossil fuels. Such high-tech storage facilities are an emerging industry made possible by fast-improving battery technology. Third, Terra wants to find an IT company to lease land for a “mid-size” data transfer and storage facility. The number of such facilities is expanding nationwide, with Virginia home to many. (see “Gainsville does not welcome data centers,” Washington Post, January 30, 2023.) Frederick County is on the cusp of approving one as well. Data centers require more power that most other kinds of industrial or manufacturing plants, and Terra claims that the Dickerson site already has the existing energy infrastructure to power the center. Terra says the solar facility at the same site would not provide power to the data center. The two are conceived as separate developments, albeit in close proximity. However, the energy storage facility would be configured to be able to provide power to the data center under certain circumstances—for example, a local or regional power outage. SCA is closely monitoring Terra’s plans. We applaud their transparency to date. However, we have a high level of concern about the possible intended use of Ag Reserve land that does not comport with AR zoning. Depending on the details, SCA is not likely support any effort to rezone Ag Reserve land to site a large-scale solar energy project. The timeframe of the entire project is a work in progress. The company must provide detailed plans to county authorities and obtain permits, which could take years. Public hearings on the project are likely at some point. SCA intends to hold an in-person informational meeting on the project in 2023. Stay tuned!
A New Era for the Dickerson Power Plant Property
Terra Energy, a subsidiary of Terra Innovations Inc., recently bought 740 acres at the site of the Dickerson power plant and waste incinerator. About two-thirds of that land is in the Ag Reserve.
Terra Innovations describes itself as a “real estate development and asset management firm started in Montgomery County” that “focuses on the creative development of challenging or unusual properties.”
The 740 acres encompasses two zoning categories: Heavy Industrial (HI) and Agricultural Reserve (AR). Some 255 acres are currently zoned HI and 485 acres are zoned AR. Most of the former coal fired power plant property is sited on the HI zoned land. It has been idle for three years. A mix of support buildings, utility facilities, power lines, access roads, railroad tracks, and additional uses exists on both HI and AR lands for this property and the adjacent sites.
Terra’s owners shared with SCA their preliminary 3-part vision for developing the property. They seek first to demolish the coal fired plant and its associated structures after salvaging, recycling, and reusing what they can from it. Their plan is to retain all existing energy-related infrastructure, some of which is owned by the local utility company, Gen-On.
Terra Energy’s aim and hope is to find a solar energy company to lease an as-yet unspecified amount of land to build a large-scale (100 to 130 acres) ground-based solar panel installation. The solar energy produced would be sold into the regional power grid. In the company’s description, such a facility would “help the county and state reach renewable energy goals and support the transition from fossil fuels.” Terra’s second goal for the property is an energy storage facility—again, to be operated by a company that specializes in such systems and would lease the land long-term. This proposed facility would store energy produced by the solar array and, according to Terra, provide grid stabilization as energy production transitions away from fossil fuels. Such high-tech storage facilities are an emerging industry made possible by fast-improving battery technology.
Third, Terra wants to find an IT company to lease land for a “mid-size” data transfer and storage facility. The number of such facilities is expanding nationwide, with Virginia home to many. (see “Gainsville does not welcome data centers,” Washington Post, January 30, 2023.)
Frederick County is on the cusp of approving one as well. Data centers require more power that most other kinds of industrial or manufacturing plants, and Terra claims that the Dickerson site already has the existing energy infrastructure to power the center.
Terra says the solar facility at the same site would not provide power to the data center. The two are conceived as separate developments, albeit in close proximity. However, the energy storage facility would be configured to be able to provide power to the data center under certain circumstances—for example, a local or regional power outage.
SCA is closely monitoring Terra’s plans. We applaud their transparency to date. However, we have a high level of concern about the possible intended use of Ag Reserve land that does not comport with AR zoning. Depending on the details, SCA is not likely support any effort to rezone Ag Reserve land to site a large-scale solar energy project. The timeframe of the entire project is a work in progress. The company must provide detailed plans to county authorities and obtain permits, which could take years. Public hearings on the project are likely at some point. SCA intends to hold an in-person informational meeting on the project in 2023. Stay tuned!
Sugarloaf Citizens Association, Inc. Linden Farm 20900 Martinsburg Road P.O. Box 218 Dickerson, MD 20842 301-349-4889 info@sugarloafcitizens.org
