Gas power plant in Virginia, United States of America. Approximate location 37.2319, -80.4211.
GasVirginiaUnited States of America
Virginia Tech Power Plant is a 6 MW gas power plant in Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Virginia Polytechnic Inst and State Unv. Based on reported annual generation of 21 GWh, it can supply roughly 5.9k homes. It ranks #6391 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1976, it is around 50 years old — long-established. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% 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 USA0056785.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 6 MW, Virginia Tech Power Plant is below the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Virginia Polytechnic Inst and State Unv.
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. 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.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 9% above 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: 54/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).
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.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
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.
The #1867 largest gas power plant of 2165 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 2165 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 789,950 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 37.2319, -80.4211 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Virginia Tech Power Plant is a 6 MW source-record gas power plant in Virginia, United States of America, commissioned in 1976.
Virginia Tech Power Plant generates about 21 GWh of electricity per year.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 5,885 homes.
Virginia Tech Power Plant is operated by Virginia Polytechnic Inst and State Unv.
