Overview

Resources and Consumption

Virginia has minor natural gas and coal reserves, nearly all of which are found in the Central Appalachian Basin in the southwestern part of the State. In addition, resource assessments show that substantial oil and gas reserves could underlie the land beneath Virginia’s offshore waters, which are part of the federally administered Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). However, congressional and Presidential moratoria have prohibited energy development in that offshore area since 1990. Virginia’s offshore Atlantic waters also have high wind power potential, as do the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia’s energy demand is distributed among the sectors of the economy, with transportation leading the others by a small margin.

Petroleum

Virginia’s only petroleum refinery, in Yorktown, processes foreign crude oil delivered by barge via the Chesapeake Bay. The Yorktown refinery primarily supplies regional markets. Petroleum products are also delivered to Virginia at the Port of Norfolk and via the Colonial and Plantation pipelines from the Gulf Coast. Virginia’s total petroleum consumption is high. Reformulated motor gasoline blended with ethanol is required in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., and in the metropolitan areas of Richmond and Norfolk-Hampton Roads.

Natural Gas

Virginia’s natural gas production is minor but enough to supply a substantial share of State demand. Virginia produces both conventional natural gas and coalbed methane in the Central Appalachian Basin, which covers the State’s western panhandle. Most of Virginia’s natural gas production comes from coalbed methane fields, two of which are among the 100 largest natural gas fields in the United States. As with most States on the East Coast, most of Virginia’s natural gas supply is delivered from the Gulf Coast region via several major interstate natural gas pipelines. Virginia’s natural gas consumption is distributed relatively evenly among the residential, commercial, industrial, and electricity generation sectors. About one-third of households in Virginia use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Virginia accounts for more than 5 percent of U.S. coal production east of the Mississippi River. Production takes place at surface and underground mines in the Central Appalachian Basin. Large volumes of coal move through Virginia by rail. Virginia coal is shipped to about one-half of the continental United States. The primary recipients are Georgia and Tennessee. Virginia receives large coal shipments from Kentucky and West Virginia. Most coal consumed in Virginia is used for electricity generation.

Coal-fired power plants typically account for about one-half of the State’s electricity generation. Two nuclear power plants account for about one-third of the State’s electricity generation, and natural gas- and petroleum-fired power plants account for much of the rest. Over two-fifths of households in Virginia use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating.