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 were constructed at Possum Point to produce electricity from coal, fuel oil, and natural gas.
Units 1-4 were constructed to use coal. Combustion turbine Units 1-6 went into service in 1968.
Units 1 and 2 were closed first. In 2003, Units 3 and 4 were converted to use natural gas. A new 14-mile pipline was constructed to bring the natural gas to the site. Those two units were closed in 2019.
The 790-MW Possum Point 5 oil-fired unit opened in 1975, and was shut down in 2021.
Unit 6, fueled by natural gas with the pion of burning #2 fuel oil, opened in 2003. It can generate 645 megawatts.1
Five ponds, Ponds A, B, C, D and E, were constructed to store coal ash. Four ponds with no liners at the bottom were closed and the ash 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 coal ash storage ponds, with 25% of the ash to be recycled for beneficial use. The ash at Possum Point had been stored in ponds. It would have been more expensive to process into cinder block or wallboard, compared to the dry ash at the Chestefield Power Plant.
To meet the requirement for a double liner in coal ash ponds, Dominion planned to build a new landfill.2
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 for industrial use for most of the Dominion Energy land not required for the new coal ash landfill. A small portion of the site along Qiamtico Creek, plus the new landfill area, was planned for Parks and Open Space use.3
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)