Colonial Trail West — United States of America

Colonial Trail West is a 142.4 MW solar power station in Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Dominion Renewable Energy. Based on reported annual generation of 6 GWh, it can supply roughly 1.9k homes. It ranks #2352 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2020, it is around 6 years old — recently built. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 8.6% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0061985.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000804344; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 142.4 MW, Colonial Trail West is well above the median solar plant in United States of America (3 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Load factor

1%, from 6 GWh of reported generation; the median for 3185 solar plants in United States of America that report generation is 19%

Share of United States of America solar capacity

0.4% of 38,093 MW across 3,283 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

3,155 of 3,277 dated solar plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest solar plants in United States of America

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Dominion Renewable Energy. All plants by this company →

Climate zone & how it works

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 37.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #44 largest solar power plant of 3283 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 3283 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 38,093 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Surry County power station · Coal · 1,500 MW · Virginia
• Surry · Nuclear · 1,780 MW · Virginia
• Gravel Neck · Gas · 368 MW · Virginia
• Surry Green Energy Center nuclear power plant · Nuclear · 1,500 MW · Virginia
• Correctional Solar LLC · Solar · 20 MW · Virginia
• James River Genco LLC · Coal · 114.8 MW · Virginia

Location

Coordinates 37.155, -76.904 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions