23rd largest plant in Virginia · 843rd nationally
Commonwealth Chesapeake is a oil power plant in Virginia with a nameplate capacity of 403 MW. It generates roughly 22.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,181 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1732 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Commonwealth Chesapeake |
|---|---|
| Operator | Commonwealth Chesapeake Co Llc |
| City | New Church |
| County | Accomack County |
| State | Virginia |
| ZIP | 23415 |
| Coordinates | 37.98920, -75.54000 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNT1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| UNT2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| UNT3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| UNT4 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| UNT5 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| UNT6 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| UNT7 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tyr Energy, Inc | Overland Park, KS | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 19.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 16 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1732 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.