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Commonwealth Chesapeake

Oil power plant in Virginia, United States of America. Approximate location 37.9892, -75.54.

OilVirginiaUnited States of America

Commonwealth Chesapeake is a 402 MW oil power station in Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Commonwealth Chesapeake Co LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 14 GWh, it can supply roughly 3,942 homes. It ranks #817 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2000, it is around 26 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

402MW installed capacity
14GWh reported / yr
3,942homes powered
2000commissioned (~26 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055381.

~10,350 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

2,413passenger cars driven for a year
1,350homes' yearly energy use
172,500tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical oil emission factor (~750 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: 41 GWh20132014: 155 GWh20142015: 134 GWh20152016: 100 GWh20162017: 72 GWh20172018: 104 GWh20182019: 14 GWh2019155 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Commonwealth Chesapeake Co LLC.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

13.9°Cannual mean temp
2,111heating degree-days (base 18°C)
621cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
5 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 4 °CFM: 8 °CMA: 12 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 22 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 15 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 14% 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: 45/100 — 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 #22 largest oil power plant of 876 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 876 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 37,143 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 37.9892, -75.54 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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