different facilities at Possum Point used coal, fuel oil, and natural gas to generate electricity
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
different facilities at Possum Point used coal, fuel oil, and natural gas to generate electricity
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
Multiple generating units have been constructed at Possum Point to produce electricity from coal, fuel oil, and natural gas.
Units 1-4 were constructed in 1948 to use coal. Combustion turbine Units 1-6 went into service in 1968.
Units 1 and 2 were closed in 2003 while Units 3 and 4 were converted to use natural gas. A new 14-mile pipeline was constructed to bring the natural gas to the site. Units 3 and 4 were closed in 2019.
The 790 megawatt (MW) Possum Point 5 oil-fired unit opened in 1975. It was burning low-sulfur oil when shut down in 2021.
Unit 6, fueled by natural gas with the option of burning #2 fuel oil, opened in 2003. It was built as a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant with two gas turbines and a steam turbine powered by the hot exhaust that together generated 645 MW. Dominion Energy announced plans in 2025 to modernize the gas turbine to add 20MW of generating capacity. Changes to the steam turbine were expected to add an additional 24MW of generation.1
In 2025 Dominion Energy upgraded the 115kV transmission line between Fredericksburg Substation and Possum Point Substation to 230kV in order to deliver more electricity to Northern Virginia. The utility also added a transformer at the existing 500kV substation, enhanced the existing 230 kV substation, and added a mile of new transmission line between substations at Possum Point.2
The original coal-fired power generating units required a disposal site for coal ash. Over time five ponds, Ponds A, B, C, D and E, were constructed for that purpose. Four ponds had no liners at the bottom. They were closed and the ash was transferred into Pond D, which had a single liner at the bottom.
in 1993, there were five ponds storing coal ash at Possum Point
Source: Google Earth
In 2019, the General Assembly required closure of Dominion's coal ash storage ponds, with 25% of the ash to be recycled for beneficial use. The ash at Possum Point had been stored wet, so it was no suitable for recycling. It would have been more expensive to process into cinder block or wallboard, compared to the dry ash at the Chesterfield Power Plant.
To meet the requirement for a double liner in coal ash ponds, Dominion planned to build a new landfill with a double liner. All the ash in Pond D would be transferred to the new landfill, just up the hill.3
Dominion chose the least-expensive option for disposal of coal ash at Possum Point
Source: Dominion Energy, Possum Point CCR Update (January 20, 2022)
In 2022, Prince William County updated its long-range Comprehensive Plan. The 2040 Land Use Map planned most of the Dominion Energy land at Possum Point that was not required for the new coal ash landfill for industrial use, potentially new data centers. A small portion of the site along Quantico Creek, plus the new landfill area, was designated as "Parks and Open Space."4
Prince William County planned for the new coal ash landfill and frontage along Quantico Creek to become Parks and Open Space (POS) by 2040
Source: Prince William County, County Mapper
Dominion Energy consolidated all coal ash into Pond D before the planned transfer to a new landfill at Possum Point
Source: Dominion Energy, Possum Point CCR Update (January 20, 2022)