Smith Mountain
Hydro power plant · Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Nameplate capacity
548 MW
Rank in Virginia
#17
of 261 plants
In service since
1965
December 1965
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Appalachian Power Co
- County
- Pittsylvania County
- Generating units
- 5
- Share of state capacity
- 1.73%
- Rank among hydro plants in Virginia
- #2 of 24
- EIA plant code
- 3780
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 150 MW | 174 MW | 1965 | Operating |
| 4 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 150 MW | 174 MW | 1966 | Operating |
| 3 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 115 MW | 106 MW | 1980 | Operating |
| 1 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 66 MW | 66 MW | 1965 | Operating |
| 5 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 66 MW | 66 MW | 1966 | Operating |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in Virginia
| Marsh Run Generation Facility | Natural gas | 597 MW |
| Bear Garden | Natural gas | 559 MW |
| Louisa Generation Facility | Natural gas | 546 MW |
| Clinch River | Natural gas | 475 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 548 MW solar plant and a 548 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Virginia power plants · What Virginia actually generates