Surry County power station — United States of America
Coal power plant in Virginia, United States of America. Approximate location 37.03808, -76.920644.
CoalVirginiaUnited States of Americasupercritical
Surry County power station is a 1,500 MW coal power station in Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.9 million homes (estimated). It ranks #326 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. 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).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_surrycounty_unite.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT
In context: how this plant compares
At 1,500 MW, Surry County power station is well above the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Technically it is described as supercritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Key facts
- Share of United States of America coal capacity
- 0.2% of 621,194 MW across 802 plants in this dataset
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest coal plants in United States of America
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative [100%].
Climate zone & how it works
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 37.0°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 #140 largest coal power plant of 802 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 802 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 621,194 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Colonial Trail West · Solar · 142.4 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
- Woodland Solar Farm · Solar · 19 MW · Virginia
- Downtown · Oil · 3.2 MW · Virginia
Location
Coordinates 37.03808, -76.920644 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Surry County power station?
Surry County power station is a 1,500 MW coal power plant in Virginia, United States of America.
Who operates Surry County power station?
Surry County power station is operated by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative [100%].