Chesterfield

Coal power plant in Virginia, United States of America. Approximate location 37.3822, -77.3833.

CoalVirginiaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Chesterfield is a 1,500 MW coal power station in Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Virginia Electric & Power Co. Based on reported annual generation of 3,615 GWh, it can supply roughly 1,032,800 homes. It ranks #151 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1974, it is around 52 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its measured emissions of 1,292,661 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 301,320 cars driven for a year. 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).

1,500MW installed capacity
3,615GWh reported / yr
1,032,800homes powered
1,292,661t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1974commissioned (~52 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0003797.

1,292,661 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

301,320passenger cars driven for a year
168,579homes' yearly energy use
21,544,350tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 3,615 GWh20194k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Virginia Electric & Power Co. All plants by this company →

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 37.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

14.7°Cannual mean temp
1,932heating degree-days (base 18°C)
736cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
33 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 5 °CFM: 9 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 19 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 15 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 21% 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: 42/100 — 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 #64 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 37.3822, -77.3833 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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