Virginia to invest in historic fusion power plant, expected to power the grid by 2030s

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the largest private fusion company, will make a multi-billion dollar investment to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant at the James River Industrial Center in Chesterfield County, Virginia, on a site owned by Dominion Energy. 

“This is an historic moment for Virginia and the world at large. Commonwealth Fusion Systems is not just building a facility, they are pioneering groundbreaking innovation to generate clean, reliable, safe power, and it’s happening right here in Virginia. We are proud to be home to this pursuit to change the future of energy and power,” Youngkin said in a statement. 

Headquartered in Massachusetts, CFS conducted a global search for the site of its first commercial fusion power plant, known as ARC, which the company will independently finance, build, own, and operate. ARC will generate about 400 megawatts of electricity — enough energy to power large industrial sites or about 150,000 homes. 

CFS is currently completing development of its fusion demonstration machine, SPARC, at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. SPARC is expected to produce its first plasma in 2026 and net fusion energy shortly afterward, demonstrating for the first time a commercially relevant design that will produce more power than consumed. SPARC paves the way for ARC, which is expected to deliver power to the grid in the early 2030s.