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Virginia   Virginia Profile

State Profile and Energy Estimates

Changes to the State Energy Data System (SEDS) Notice: In October 2023, we updated the way we calculate primary energy consumption of electricity generation from noncombustible renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal). Visit our Changes to 1960—2022 conversion factor for renewable energy page to learn more.

Profile AnalysisPrint State Energy Profile
(overview, data, & analysis)

Last Updated: January 17, 2024

Overview

Nuclear power is Virginia’s largest source of primary energy production.

Virginia lies midway between the southern tip of Florida and the northern coast of Maine. The state stretches almost 430 miles from west to east and includes the southern end of the Delmarva Peninsula on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay.1 Most of the state's largest cities and the nation's largest coal export center at Hampton Roads are located on Virginia's eastern coastal plain.2,3,4 To the west, the flat coastal plain meets the rolling hills of the Piedmont region at the Fall Line, a boundary where the state's rivers decline in rapids and waterfalls.5 However, most of the state's hydroelectric power plants are further west, where the Piedmont rises into the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Appalachian region that occupies much of western Virginia contains most of the state's coal, the primary fossil energy resource produced in Virginia.6,7,8 The Appalachian Plateau, which cuts across the southwestern corner of Virginia, holds nearly all the state's crude oil and natural gas fields.9 About 16 million acres of Virginia are forested, and the state's widely distributed forests hold abundant biomass resources. Virginia also has significant offshore wind energy potential.10,11 Nuclear power is Virginia's largest source of primary energy production.12 Even though uranium, the source for nuclear fuel, was discovered in southern Virginia, uranium mining in the state has been banned since the 1980s.13

The transportation sector accounts for three-tenths of Virginia's energy consumption.14 The state has the nation's third-largest state-maintained highway system, plus six major interstate highways, and more than a dozen railroads that operate on 3,500 miles of railway in the state. Virginia also has several commercial airports, including two near Washington, DC, that are among the nation's busiest, and one of the nation's largest seaports, the Port of Virginia.15,16,17 The state's commercial sector, which includes many colleges, universities, and federal government facilities in addition to other business activities, uses less than three-tenths of Virginia's energy. The state is the nation's 12th most populated, and its residential sector consumes less than one-fourth of the state's energy.18 Virginia's industrial sector, including almost 8 million acres of farms, accounts for less than one-fifth of the state's energy consumption.19,20 Even though Virginia consumes almost three times more energy than the state produces, Virginia's per capita energy use is below the national average.21,22

Coal

In 2022, Virginia ports handled about 38% of the nation’s coal exports.

Virginia's 40 operating coal mines have less than 2% of the nation's total coal reserves and account for less than 2% of U.S. production.23 However, the state has the nation's largest coal port complex and is the leading exporter of U.S. coal.24 In 2022, about 38% of the nation's total coal exports were shipped through the Norfolk Customs District, which includes Hampton Roads, Norfolk, and Newport News.25 In 2022, almost all the coal exported from Virginia's seaports came from other states.26 More than two-thirds of the coal mined in Virginia was also exported. Although most of Virginia's mined coal was sent to other states or out of the country, almost one-eighth of the coal the state produced was used in Virginia.27,28

In 2022, Virginia consumed nearly 2.9 million tons of coal. About 1.4 million tons of that coal was mined in-state.29 Most of the additional coal Virginia needed came from West Virginia and Kentucky.30 The electric power sector consumed almost three-fifths of the coal used in Virginia, coke plants consumed three-tenths, and industrial facilities used almost all the rest. Minor amounts of coal went to the commercial sector.31 Less than 0.1% of Virginia households heat their homes with coal.32 Overall, Virginia accounted for about 0.6% of the nation's total coal consumption in 2022.33

Natural gas

Virginia accounts for less than 0.5% of the nation's total natural gas reserves and production.34,35 All of the state's natural gas fields are located in seven counties in southwestern Virginia.36 Two of those natural gas fields are among the nation's top 100 as ranked by proved reserves, and both produce coalbed methane.37,38 Coalbed methane is natural gas produced from organic material as it is transformed into coal.39 Virginia contains one-fifth of U.S. coalbed methane proved reserves, the third-largest amount of any state.40 In 2022, more than four-fifths of Virginia's natural gas production was from coalbed wells, and the state accounted for about one-tenth of the nation's total coalbed methane production.41 The state's annual natural gas production from all sources has steadily declined from a peak of more than 151 billion cubic feet in 2011. However, at 89 billion cubic feet in 2022, production was still nearly four times greater than it was in 1992.42

Most of Virginia’s natural gas production comes from wells drilled into coal-rich formations.

Virginia's natural gas consumption is about seven times greater than state production.43,44 Most of the natural gas delivered to consumers in Virginia comes from the Appalachian region by interstate natural gas pipelines. In the past, the largest share of the state's natural gas supply came from the south through North Carolina. However, after 2011, natural gas movements into Virginia from the south abruptly declined as more natural gas entered the state from the north through Maryland because of the increase in natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale in nearby Pennsylvania.45,46,47,48 Much of the natural gas entering Virginia continues to other states. In 2016, for the first time, the largest share of natural gas leaving Virginia went south to North Carolina. Increasing amounts have also gone to Tennessee. Some natural gas is delivered to Maryland. A small amount of the natural gas that leaves Virginia enters Washington, DC, and the surrounding Maryland suburbs by way of the local natural gas utility.49,50 Some of the natural gas that Virginia receives is placed in the state's two underground natural gas storage facilities. Their combined total storage capacity is almost 9 billion cubic feet, about 0.1% of the nation's total.51,52

The electric power sector is Virginia's largest natural gas consumer, and natural gas use in that sector has almost tripled since 2010.53 In 2015, Virginia's electric power sector used more natural gas than all the other end-use sectors combined for the first time. By 2020, it accounted for almost two-thirds of the natural gas delivered to consumers in the state. Since 2021, the electric power sector has used a slightly smaller share, but it still accounted for 57% of state natural gas use in 2022.54 The industrial sector's natural gas use increased steadily from 2009 until 2021, decreasing about 4% in 2022.55 It is the second-largest natural gas-consumer in Virginia and accounted for 17% of deliveries in 2022. The residential sector, where one in three households use natural gas for home heating, used about 13%.56 The commercial sector consumed almost 12%. A small amount of natural gas went to the transportation sector for use as vehicle fuel.57 There are 24 compressed natural gas vehicle fueling stations in Virginia, and all but 7 of them are private access only.58

Petroleum

Virginia has no appreciable crude oil reserves and only a very small amount of crude oil production, all of which is from wells in two counties in the far southwestern corner of the state.59,60,61 Virginia began producing crude oil in 1942, but the state's total cumulative crude oil production since then is less than 1 million barrels. In 1983, Virginia's total annual production reached a peak of more than 65,000 barrels, but it was only about 7,000 barrels in 2022.62,63 Virginia does not have any operating petroleum refineries, and no major crude oil pipelines cross the state.64,65 Refined petroleum products arrive in Virginia by pipeline and by ship. Two major petroleum product pipelines—Colonial Pipeline and PPL Pipeline (formerly known as Plantation Pipeline)—deliver refined petroleum products to locations across the state.66 The Colonial Pipeline originates in Texas and has several delivery locations in Virginia before reaching its endpoint in New Jersey.67 The PPL Pipeline brings petroleum products north from Louisiana and Mississippi to its terminus in northern Virginia near Washington, DC.68 Petroleum products also arrive from overseas at Norfolk.69

Virginia uses more petroleum than about three-fourths of the states but consumes less per capita than almost three-fifths of the states.70 The transportation sector uses about 87% of the petroleum products consumed in the state, more than three-fifths of that as motor gasoline.71,72 Federal clean air regulations require counties and cities in the northern Virginia area to use reformulated motor gasoline blended with ethanol to reduce harmful emissions. Several counties and cities in central and eastern Virginia also require reformulated motor gasoline to reduce ozone levels and smog.73 The state's industrial sector accounts for almost 6% of state petroleum consumption, and the commercial sector uses nearly 4%. The residential sector, where about 1 in 13 households heat with fuel oil, kerosene, propane, or other petroleum products, consumes about 3%. The electric power sector uses very little petroleum.74,75

Electricity

Natural gas and nuclear power accounted for most of Virginia's total in-state electricity net generation in 2022. Natural gas fueled the largest share at 54%, and the state's two nuclear power plants supplied 31%.76,77 Renewable energy sources, including solar energy, biomass, and hydroelectric power, accounted for 11%. Coal fueled almost 4% of Virginia's total in-state generation, and petroleum supplied the rest.78 Coal-fired power plants supplied the largest share of the state's net generation until 2009, when coal's contribution fell below that of nuclear power. As coal-fired generation decreased, natural gas-fired generation increased. In 2012, natural gas fueled more of Virginia's in-state electricity generation than coal for the first time. Natural gas-fired generation has exceeded coal's contribution in every year since then. Natural gas also surpassed nuclear power for the first time in 2015. Also, as coal-fired generation continued to decline, the contribution from renewable energy sources increased. As a result, in 2019 renewable resources supplied more of Virginia's total net generation than coal for the first time.79,80

Virginia's electricity consumption is greater than its total in-state generation, and the state receives additional power from the two regional grids that supply the state.81,82,83 In 2021, Virginia was the nation's 10th largest electricity consumer as measured by electricity sales, but ranked 17th on a per capita basis.84 Northern Virginia has the largest concentration of data centers in the world, and data centers are among the most energy-intensive commercial building types.85,86 In 2022, the commercial sector accounted for more than half of Virginia's electricity consumption. The residential sector, where most households have air conditioning and almost three in five use electricity for home heating, accounted for more than one-third of state use.87,88 The industrial sector consumed almost all the rest. The transportation sector, which includes Virginia's rail and subway systems, uses a small amount of the state's power.89 The average electricity price in Virginia is well below the national average and is less than in more than half of the states.90

Renewable energy

Virginia’s Bath County Pumped Storage Station is one of the largest pumped hydroelectric storage facilities in the world.

Renewable resources provided about 11% of Virginia's total electricity generation in 2022. The largest share was from solar energy, which supplied almost 6% of the state's total net generation, primarily from utility-scale solar facilities (1-megawatt and larger). Solar energy's contribution to the state's total in-state electricity generation more than doubled between 2020 and 2022.91 All of Virginia's utility-scale solar-powered electricity generation is photovoltaic (PV), and the state's first utility-scale solar PV facility came online in early 2016.92 By October 2023, Virginia had about 70 utility-scale solar PV power plants. The largest is a 175-megawatt facility east of Richmond. Utility-scale and small-scale (less than 1-megawatt) solar installations have a combined total capacity of more than 3,600 megawatts. About one-sixth of Virginia's solar capacity is at small-scale customer-sited installations.93

Biomass fueled about 4% of Virginia's total electricity generation in 2022. Municipal solid waste and landfill gas are the most common forms of biomass used for electricity generation in Virginia, but facilities that use wood and wood waste account for more than three-fifths of the state's biomass-fueled generating capacity.94 Virginia's forest biomass resources provide the feedstock for the state's seven wood pellet manufacturing plants that can produce nearly one million tons of wood pellets per year.95 Wood pellets are used for heating and to generate electricity.96 However, fewer than 2% of the state's households are heated with wood.97 Virginia's one biodiesel plant has a production capacity of about 5 million gallons per year.98 However, Virginia consumers used more than 14 million gallons of biodiesel in 2021.99 There are no fuel ethanol production facilities in Virginia, but the state accounted for about 3% of the nation's fuel ethanol consumption in 2021. Almost all of it was used in the transportation sector.100,101

Virginia has 25 conventional hydroelectric power plants and 2 pumped-storage hydroelectric facilities, including one of the world's largest.102 The conventional hydroelectric plants typically account for less than 2% of Virginia's in-state generation.103 Pumped-storage hydroelectric plants generate electricity during peak demand periods using water previously pumped into an elevated storage reservoir during off-peak periods and then releasing it to flow back to a lower reservoir through turbines that generate electricity. Pumped storage supplies additional generating capacity when needed. It consumes more power than it generates, but it provides power in periods of high demand.104,105 Virginia's Bath County Pumped Storage Station is one of the two pumped hydroelectric facilities in the state. With a net generating capacity of 3,003 megawatts, it is the largest power plant in Virginia by capacity. It is also the largest pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in the nation and, as of 2023, the second-largest in the world.106,107,108

Most of Virginia's onshore wind energy potential is in narrow bands on the state's western mountain ridges.109 Much of that area is national park land with limited development potential. Currently, there are no utility-scale onshore wind projects in the state, although some small wind projects were installed at host schools in Virginia as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind for Schools program.110,111 The state has large areas with wind energy potential off its Atlantic coast and in the Chesapeake Bay. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project, about 27 miles off Virginia Beach, has two 6-megawatt turbines that came online in January 2021.112 The 12-megawatt project is the precursor to the planned development of a 2,600-megawatt wind farm in an adjacent federal lease tract. That project is targeted for completion by 2026.113 In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Interior announced a proposed offshore wind lease sale in federal waters off the coast of Virginia.114

In 2020, Virginia replaced its voluntary renewable portfolio goal with the Virginia Clean Economy Act. The Act requires that the state's two largest investor-owned utilities, Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power, retire their carbon-emitting electricity generating units and construct, acquire, or purchase generating capacity located in Virginia that uses solar and wind energy. Dominion Energy Virginia must obtain 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045, and American Electric Power is to meet its 100% renewable target by 2050. The Act establishes an energy efficiency standard requiring each utility to achieve incremental annual energy efficiency savings.115,116 Like several other states, Virginia gives electric utility customers the option to purchase 100% of their electricity from renewable energy sources. If a utility does not offer a program that meets the 100% renewable energy requirement, its customers can purchase renewable power from any licensed retail supplier.117

Endnotes

1 NETSTATE, Virginia, The Geography of Virginia, updated February 25, 2016.
2 U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census: Virginia Profile.
3 U.S. Coal Exports, Estimated U.S. Coal Port Capacity, 2021 Update, accessed December 4, 2023.
4 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Quarterly Coal Report, October-December 2022 (April 2023), Table 13, U.S. Coal Exports by Customs District.
5 Sethi, Parvinder, et al., Geology of Virginia, Coastal Plain Physiography, Special Physiographic Features, Part 1, The Fall Line, Radford University (2014).
6 U.S. EIA, Virginia, Profile Overview, Interactive Map, State Mask Virginia, Hydroelectric Power Plants, Coal Mines, Coal Fields, accessed December 4, 2023.
7 NETSTATE, Virginia, Virginia Economy, updated December 19, 2017.
8 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Tables P2, Primary Energy Production Estimates in Trillion Btu, 2021.
9 Virginia Energy, Oil and Natural Gas, accessed December 4, 2023.
10 Virginia Department of Forestry, Field Notes: Ground Truthing Forest Data (January 22, 2021).
11 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, WINDExchange, Virginia Offshore 90-Meter Wind Map and Wind Resource Potential, and Virginia Land-Based Wind Speed at 100 Meters, accessed December 4, 2023.
12 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Tables P2, Primary Energy Production Estimates in Trillion Btu, 2021.
13 "Virginia Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal on uranium mining ban," Chatham Star-Tribune (October 4, 2021).
14 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C1, Energy Consumption Overview: Estimates by Energy Source and End-Use Sector, 2021.
15 Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia's Highway System, updated November 1, 2019.
16 McDonnell, Gov. Bob, "The Commonwealth of Virginia—Staying Competitive in Today's Global Marketplace," Trade & Industry Development (July 18, 2013).
17 The Port of Virginia, Hampton Roads Harbor, 2022 Trade Overview.
18 U.S. Census, State Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2022, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022.
19 U.S. EIA, Virginia, Profile Data, Energy Indicators, accessed December 6, 2023.
20 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C1, Energy Consumption Overview: Estimates by Energy Source and End-Use Sector, 2021.
21 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table P3, Total Primary Energy Production and Total Energy Consumption Estimates in Trillion Btu, 2021.
22 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C14, Total Energy Consumption Estimates per Capita by End-Use Sector, Ranked by State, 2020.
23 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report 2022(October 2023), Table 1, Coal Production and Number of Mines by State and Mine Type, 2022 and 2021, and Table 14, Recoverable Coal Reserves and Average Recovery Percentage at Producing Mines by State, 2022 and 2021.
24 U.S. EIA, Quarterly Coal Report, October-December 2022 (April 2023), Table 2, Coal production by state, and Table 13, U.S. coal exports by customs district.
25 U.S. EIA, Quarterly Coal Report, October-December 2022 (April 2023), Table 13, U.S. Coal Exports by Customs District.
26 U.S. EIA, Quarterly Coal Report, October-December 2022 (April 2023), Table 2, Coal production by state, and Table 13, U.S. coal exports by customs district.
27 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Distribution Report 2022 (October 2023), Domestic and Foreign Distribution of U.S. Coal by State of Origin, 2022.
28 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Distribution Report 2022 (October 2023), By Coal Origin State, Virginia Table OS-25, Domestic Coal Distribution, by Origin State, 2022.
29 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report 2022 (October 2023), Table 26, U.S. Coal Consumption by End Use Sector, Census Division, and State, 2022 and 2021.
30 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Distribution Report 2022 (October 2023), By Coal Destination State, Virginia Table DS-40, Domestic Coal Distribution, by Destination State, 2022.
31 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report 2022 (October 2023), Table 26, U.S. Coal Consumption by End Use Sector, Census Division, and State, 2022 and 2021.
32 U.S. Census Bureau, House Heating Fuel, Virginia, Table B25040, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
33 U.S. EIA, Coal Data Browser, Total consumption, Electric power, Commercial and institutional, Coke plants, Other industrial, United States, Virginia, Annual, 2022.
34 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Reserves Summary as of Dec. 31, Dry Natural Gas, Annual, 2021.
35 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals and Production, Gross Withdrawals, Annual, 2022.
36 Virginia Energy, Geology and Mineral Resources, Energy Resources, Natural Gas, accessed December 7, 2023.
37 U.S. EIA, Top 100 U.S. Oil and Gas Fields (March 2015), Table 2, Top 100 U.S. gas fields as of December 31, 2013.
38 Lyons, Paul C., Coalbed methane potential in the Appalachian states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee—An overview, U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 96-735 (1996), p. 12.
39 U.S. EIA, Glossary, Coalbed Methane, accessed December 7, 2023.
40 U.S. EIA, Coalbed Methane, Proved Reserves Summary as of Dec. 31, Annual, 2017.
41 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals and Production, Virginia, and U.S. , Annual, 2022.
42 U.S. EIA, Virginia Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals, Annual, 1967-2022.
43 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Consumption by End Use, Virginia, Annual, 2017-22.
44 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals and Production, Gross Withdrawals, Annual, 2017-22.
45 U.S. EIA, Virginia Natural Gas Interstate Receipts From North Carolina, 1989-2022.
46 U.S. EIA, Virginia Natural Gas Interstate Net Receipts from Maryland, 1989-2022.
47 U.S. EIA, Maryland Natural Gas Net Receipts from Pennsylvania, 1989-2022.
48 U.S. EIA, "Shale natural gas production in the Appalachian Basin sets records in first half of 2021," Today in Energy (September 1, 2021).
49 U.S. EIA, International and Interstate Movements of Natural Gas by State, Virginia, Annual, 2017-22.
50 Washington Gas, Corporate Governance, Corporate and Executive Summary, accessed December 10, 2023.
51 U.S. EIA, Underground Natural Gas Storage Capacity, Virginia, Annual, 2017-22.
52 U.S. EIA, Underground Natural Gas Storage Capacity, Total Storage Capacity, Annual, 2017-22.
53 U.S. EIA, Virginia Natural Gas Deliveries to Electric Power Consumers, 1997-2022.
54 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Consumption by End Use, Virginia, Annual, 2017-22.
55 U.S. EIA, Virginia Natural Gas Industrial Consumption, Annual, 1997-2022.
56 U.S. Census Bureau, House Heating Fuel, Virginia, Table B25040, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
57 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Consumption by End Use, Virginia, Annual, 2017-22.
58 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, Alternative Fueling Station Locator, Virginia, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Public and Private Access, Available, accessed January 8, 2024.
59 U.S. EIA, Crude Oil Production, Annual, 2017-22.
60 U.S. EIA, Proved Nonproducing Reserves, Virginia, Annual, 2016-21.
61 Virginia Energy, Geology and Mineral Resources, Energy Resources, Oil, accessed December 12, 2023.
62 Virginia Energy, Geology and Mineral Resources, Energy Resources, Oil, accessed December 12, 2023.
63 U.S. EIA, Virginia Field Production of Crude Oil, Annual, 1981-2022.
64 U.S. EIA, Virginia Number of Operable Refineries as of January 1, 1982-2023.
65 U.S. Department of Energy, State of Virginia Energy Sector Risk Profile, Petroleum, accessed December 12, 2023.
66 U.S. EIA, Virginia Profile Overview, Interactive Map, Virginia, Petroleum Product Pipelines, Petroleum Product Terminals, accessed December 12, 2023.
67 Colonial Pipeline Company, About Colonial, System Map, accessed December 12, 2023.
68 Kinder Morgan, Operations, Products Pipelines, Overview, Southeast Operations, Products (SE) Pipe Line Corporation, accessed December 12, 2023.
69 U.S. EIA, Petroleum and Other Liquids, Company Level Imports, January 2023-September 2023.
70 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C15, Petroleum Consumption Estimates, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2021.
71 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F16, Total Petroleum Consumption Estimates, 2021.
72 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C8, Transportation Sector Energy Consumption Estimates, 2021.
73 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gasoline Standards, Reformulated Gasoline, accessed November 10, 2022.
74 U.S. Census Bureau, House Heating Fuel, Virginia, Table B25040, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
75 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F16, Total Petroleum Consumption Estimates, 2021.
76 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, Virginia, All fuels (utility-scale), Natural gas, Nuclear, Small-scale solar photovoltaic, Annual, 2022.
77 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Virginia, updated March 9, 2021.
78 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, Virginia, Fuel Type (Check all), 2022.
79 U.S. EIA, Virginia Electricity Profile 2022, Table 5, Electric power industry generation by primary energy source, 1990 through 2022.
80 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, Virginia, Fuel Type (Check all), 2001-22.
81 U.S. EIA, Virginia Electricity Profile 2022, Table 10, Supply and Disposition of Electricity, 1990 Through 2022.
82 PJM, Who we are, accessed December 20, 2023.
83 Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA In Virginia, accessed December 20, 2023.
84 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C17, Electricity Sales to Ultimate Customers, Total and Residential, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2021.
85 Kidd, David, "The Data Center Capital of the World is in Virginia," Governing (July 27, 2023).
86 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Data Centers and Servers, Buildings, accessed December 16, 2023.
87 U.S. EIA, 2020 RECS Survey Data, Air Conditioning, Table HC7.8.
88 U.S. Census Bureau, House Heating Fuel, Virginia, Table B25040, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
89 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Retail sales of electricity, Virginia, All sectors, Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Transportation, Annual, 2022.
90 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Geography (Check all), Average retail price of electricity, All sectors, Annual, 2022.
91 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, Virginia, Fuel Type (Check all), 2001-22 .
92 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), October 2023.
93 U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly (November 2023), Table 6.2.B.
94 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B), 2022 Form EIA-860 Data, Schedule 3, 'Generator Data' (Operable Units Only).
95 U.S. EIA, Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report, Table 1, Densified biomass fuel manufacturing facilities in the United States by state, region, and capacity, September 2023.
96 U.S. EIA, Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report, About the Densified Biomass Fuel Report, accessed December 18, 2023.
97 U.S. Census Bureau, House Heating Fuel, Virginia, Table B25040, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
98 U.S. EIA, U.S. Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity, U.S. biodiesel plant count by state, 2023, Virginia.
99 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F26, Biodiesel Consumption Estimates, 2021.
100 U.S. EIA, U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity, U.S. fuel ethanol plant count by state, 2023.
101 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F25, Fuel ethanol consumption estimates, 2021.
102 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), EIA 860M, October 2023.
103 U.S. EIA, , Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, Virginia, All fuels, Conventional hydroelectric, Small-scale solar photovoltaic, 2001-22.
104 U.S. EIA, Glossary, Pumped-storage hydroelectric plant, accessed December 19, 2023.
105 U.S. EIA, "Pumped storage provides grid reliability even with net generation loss," Today in Energy (July 8, 2013).
106 U.S. EIA, Virginia Electricity Profile 2022, Table 2A, Ten largest plants by capacity, 2022.
107 Stocks, Carrieann, "Largest pumped storage plants in operation and development," NS Energy (May 10, 2020).
108 Bellini, Emiliano, "State Grid of China switches on world's largest pumped-hydro station," pv magazine (January 4, 2022).
109 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, WINDExchange, Virginia Land-Based Wind Speed at 100 Meters, accessed December 19, 2023.
110 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), EIA 860M, October 2023.
111 OpenEI, Wind for Schools, Wind for Schools Turbine Data, accessed December 19, 2023.
112 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), EIA 860M, October 2023.
113 Skopljak, Nadja, "Second Turbine Up at Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project," offshoreWIND.biz (June 29, 2020).
114 Stayman, Zoe, "Offshore wind lease sale announced for Delaware, Maryland, Virginia," Coast TV (updated December 22, 2023).
115 Virginia Legislative Information System, 2020 Session, SB 851 Electric utility regulation; environmental goals, Virginia Clean Economy Act, approved April 11, 2020.
116 NC Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Virginia, Renewable Portfolio Standard, updated August 16, 2023.
117 NC Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Virginia, Mandatory Utility Green Power Option, updated August 30, 2021.