GASTON
OperatingHydro power plant
- Capacity
- 178 MW
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- County
- Halifax County
- Operator
- VIRGINIA ELECTRIC & POWER CO
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1963
- EIA plant ID
- 2756
- Generators
- 4
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Net generation (2024)
- 332 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 21%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 36.4992, -77.8115
GASTON, a 178 MW Hydro power plant in Halifax County, North Carolina. Operated by VIRGINIA ELECTRIC & POWER CO, commissioned 1963.
How GASTON compares
With 178 MW of capacity, GASTON ranks 25th among the 205 operating power plants Bywatts maps in North Carolina and 3rd of the 36 operating Hydro plants in the state. It accounts for about 9.2% of North Carolina's operating Hydro capacity and 0.6% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 98th-largest of the 1,243 operating Hydro plants in the database. Commissioned in 1963, it is older than 82% of the 183 operating North Carolina plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, VIRGINIA ELECTRIC & POWER CO, runs 3 operating plants in North Carolina totaling 458 MW. It shares Halifax County with 3 other operating plants, including ROSEMARY POWER STATION and ROANOKE RAPIDS.
EIA-860 lists 4 generators at the site with 178 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional hydroelectric technology. Net generation was 332 GWh in 2024 (a 21% capacity factor), up 46% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The nearest named substation is TREGO, about 12.0 miles away; the closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 232 kV line, under 0.1 miles away. Another 6 operating power plants totaling 320 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is ROSEMARY POWER STATION (180 MW, Natural Gas).
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant, substation and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
GASTON is a 178 MW hydro power plant in Halifax County, NC, operated by VIRGINIA ELECTRIC & POWER CO, commissioned in 1963. Halifax County carries moderate modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 2.5 of 5 at the 38th national percentile. Hurricane is the leading peril, rated Relatively Moderate by FEMA at the 84th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a hydro plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Halifax County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | 84th | 4.3 of 5 | 0.20 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 60th | 3.4 of 5 | 6.2 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 52nd | 3.1 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 51st | 3.1 of 5 | 0.41 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 49th | 3.0 of 5 | 1.1 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 39th | 2.6 of 5 | 3.0 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 38th | 2.5 of 5 | 1.2 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 37th | 2.5 of 5 | 7.2 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 35th | 2.4 of 5 | 46.3 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 33rd | 2.3 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 24th | 1.9 of 5 | 0.72 |
Perils not assessed in Halifax County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "No Rating" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Halifax County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.