14th largest plant in Virginia · 493rd nationally
Possum Point is a natural gas power plant in Virginia with a nameplate capacity of 709 MW. It generates roughly 1.9M MWh per year — enough to power about 178,040 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 30% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 870 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (709 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Possum Point |
|---|---|
| Operator | Virginia Electric & Power Co |
| City | Dumfries |
| County | Prince William County |
| State | Virginia |
| ZIP | 22026 |
| Coordinates | 38.53670, -77.28060 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Petroleum Liquids | Residual Oil | 882 MW | Retired | 1975 |
| 6ST | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 265 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 239 MW | Retired | 1962 |
| 6A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 174 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| 6B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 174 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Retired | 1955 |
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Residual Oil | 69.0 MW | Retired | 1948 |
| 2 | Petroleum Liquids | Residual Oil | 69.0 MW | Retired | 1951 |
| GT1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT4 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT5 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT6 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| CO₂ | 813.4k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 4 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 66 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 870 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 | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.