74th largest plant in Virginia · 3346th nationally
Wheelabrator Portsmouth is a oil power plant in Virginia with a nameplate capacity of 60.0 MW. It generates roughly 49.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,747 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 9% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 942 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 (60.0 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 | Wheelabrator Portsmouth |
|---|---|
| Operator | Wheelabrator Environmental Systems |
| City | Portsmouth |
| County | Portsmouth City County |
| State | Virginia |
| ZIP | 23704 |
| Coordinates | 36.80830, -76.30360 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1410 | Municipal Solid Waste | Municipal Waste | 20.0 MW | Retired | 1987 |
| 1420 | Municipal Solid Waste | Municipal Waste | 20.0 MW | Retired | 1987 |
| 1430 | Municipal Solid Waste | Municipal Waste | 20.0 MW | Retired | 1987 |
| CO₂ | 23.5k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 31 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 66 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 942 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 |
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.