Power plant · West Virginia, United States
Kanawha River Power Plant
Kanawha River Power Plant is a closed coal power plant in West Virginia, United States, with 439 MW of capacity, operated by Appalachian Power Company.
Grid connection
It closed in 2017, which freed up a 439 MW grid connection at 138 kV to the grid of Appalachian Power Company, unless it has been reassigned since.
Facts
Every value links to its source, and to the source's own record where it has one. Licences and last-checked dates are per row.
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Location | West Virginia | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Status | Closed | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Start year | 1953 | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| End year | 2017 | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Operator | Appalachian Power Company | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Capacity | 439 MW (nameplate of its retired generators) | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Technology | Conventional Steam Coal | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Grid operator | Appalachian Power Company | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Voltage | 138 kV | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Coordinates | 38.2056, -81.4211 | EIA-860 / 860M / 923 · Public domain · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
Research on this power plant and its operator.Who owns it up to the parent company, its grid connection and planning status, and an introduction to the operator.
Request researchHow it compares
Kanawha River is the 10th-largest of 11 power plants in West Virginia and the 855th-largest of 1,009 in the United States by capacity; its 439 MW is <0.1% of the 917,512 MW we hold for the United States. Ranks and totals cover the power plants in our data that report their capacity, not every one in existence. Power plants planned, permitted or under construction are ranked apart.
| Within | Rank | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 10th of 11 | 13,953 MW | 3.1% |
| United States | 855th of 1,009 | 917,512 MW | <0.1% |
| All power plants in our data | 1,340th of 15,799 | 1,918,113 MW | <0.1% |
Timeline
Dated facts about this power plant from its sources, oldest first.
- Started operating
- Retired
Nearby
Within 50 km of this power plant: 136 mines (33 operating) and 1 data center, measured from the coordinates in the facts above. The table shows the nearest 4, up to 3 per kind.
| Name | Kind | Size | Status | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Branch Surface No 1 | Mine | — | Idle | 3.3 km |
| Hudson Mine | Mine | — | Closed | 6.2 km |
| Speed Mine | Mine | — | Operating | 6.5 km |
| Alpha Federal | Data center | — | — | 29 km |
Operator, grid operator and place
More from Appalachian Power Company
- John E Amos2,933 MW
- Mountaineer1,300 MW
- Dresden Energy Facility678 MW
- Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center668 MW
- Smith Mountain548 MW
- Ceredo Generating Station519 MW
- Clinch River475 MW
- Axton Solar201 MW · planned
Other power plants in West Virginia
- John E Amos2,933 MW
- FirstEnergy Harrison Power Station2,052 MW
- Mt Storm1,681 MW
- Mitchell (WV)1,633 MW
- Pleasants Power Station1,368 MW
- Mountaineer1,300 MW
- FirstEnergy Fort Martin Power Station1,152 MW
- Longview Power Plant808 MW
Data on this page
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DUKES 5.11: Power stations in the United Kingdom, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2026). EIA-860 / 860M / 923, Public domain.
- JRC Open Power Plants Database (JRC-PPDB-OPEN), European Commission, Joint Research Centre. JRC Open Power Plants Database (JRC-PPDB-OPEN), CC BY 4.0.
- Bundesnetzagentur, Marktstammdatenregister. Marktstammdatenregister, DL-DE-BY-2.0.
- MSHA Mines Data Set. MSHA Mines Data Set, Public domain.
- Dutch power station owners' and operators' pages. Dutch power station owners' and operators' pages, Facts only, each linked to its page.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenStreetMap data centers, ODbL 1.0.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- RVO SDE(+)(+) projecten in beheer and SDE viewer. RVO SDE(+)(+) projecten in beheer and SDE viewer, Free reuse, no attribution required.
- Wikidata. Wikidata, CC0 1.0.