Virginia to get world’s first commercial fusion power plant

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The world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant will be built at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

That’s according to a Dec. 17 announcement from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, one of the largest private fusion companies in the country.

The multibillion-dollar project is still nascent, however. A CFS spokesperson told Construction Dive that the firm has only just announced plans, and therefore has not selected any contractors nor determined a project timeline or size.

As part of the effort to build the plant, Devens, Massachusetts-based CFS reached an agreement with Dominion Energy Virginia — the current owner of the proposed site — to provide non-financial collaboration, to include development and technical expertise as well as leasing rights.

CFS conducted a global search for the site of its first commercial fusion power plant, known as ARC, per the release. The company will independently finance, build, own and operate the project.

The project has received a $1 million grant by the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank, which Chesterfield County matched, per an announcement from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.

CFS was spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018. Since then, it has raised more than $2 billion in capital and has received $16.5 million in Department of Energy grants. The most recent grant of $15 million was announced in June 2024 as part of the first phase of the DOE’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.  

The new facility is expected to create hundreds of jobs during construction and long-term operation, CFS’ announcement said. When finished, ARC will generate about 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 150,000 homes.