36th largest plant in Virginia · 2014th nationally
Colonial Trail West is a solar power plant in Virginia with a nameplate capacity of 142 MW. It generates roughly 260.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 24,777 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 21% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Colonial Trail West |
|---|---|
| Operator | Dominion Energy Inc. |
| City | Spring Grove |
| County | Surry County |
| State | Virginia |
| ZIP | 23881 |
| Coordinates | 37.13889, -76.90222 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTWS | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 142 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| NERC Region | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
Utility-scale solar farms convert sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic panels. They produce zero direct emissions and have no fuel cost, but generation is variable — peaking at midday and falling to zero at night. Capacity factors typically run 18–28% in good locations.