Birchwood Power

Coal power plant in Virginia, United States of America. Approximate location 38.2667, -77.3147.

CoalVirginiaUnited States of America

Birchwood Power is a 258 MW coal power station in Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Birchwood Power Partners LP. Based on reported annual generation of 48 GWh, it can supply roughly 13,800 homes. It ranks #1057 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1996, it is around 30 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

258MW installed capacity
48GWh reported / yr
13,800homes powered
1996commissioned (~30 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0054304.

~48,300 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

11,259passenger cars driven for a year
6,299homes' yearly energy use
805,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2013: 587 GWh20132014: 848 GWh20142015: 561 GWh20152016: 443 GWh20162017: 413 GWh20172018: 548 GWh20182019: 48 GWh2019848 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Birchwood Power Partners LP.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

13.7°Cannual mean temp
2,182heating degree-days (base 18°C)
634cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
35 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 2 °CJF: 3 °CFM: 8 °CMA: 13 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 14 °CON: 9 °CND: 4 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 11% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 46/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #201 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 38.2667, -77.3147 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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