Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) is an electric generation and transmission cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

 headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia

Glen Allen, Virginia

Glen Allen is a census-designated place in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,562 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

. ODEC provides wholesale power to its 11 member electric cooperative

Utility cooperative

A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members...

s in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, and Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

. Through these member cooperatives, ODEC provided over 11 million megawatt hours of power to 1.4 million people in 2008. ODEC's member cooperatives primarily distribute power to rural, suburban, and recreation areas.

ODEC's generating facilities make use of coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

, fuel oil

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...

, natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 and nuclear energy

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

. ODEC owns 11.6% of the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station

North Anna Nuclear Generating Station

The North Anna Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on a site in Louisa County, Virginia. The site is operated by Dominion Generation company and is jointly owned by the Dominion Virginia Power corporation and by the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative .The plant has two Westinghouse...

 in Louisa County. ODEC President Jack Reasor in 2007 stated that ODEC does not support a cap on carbon emissions as proposed by the United States Carbon Cap-and-Trade Program. In 2009, ODEC proposed building a coal plant

Fossil fuel power plant

A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...

 in Dendron, Virginia

Dendron, Virginia

Dendron is a town in Surry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dendron is located at ....

. In 2010, ODEC agreed to purchase the output of the Criterion Wind Project

Criterion Wind Project

The Criterion Wind Project is a wind farm located on Backbone Mountain east of Oakland, Maryland, United States. The project has a rated capacity of 70 MW and uses 28 Liberty Wind Turbines manufactured by Clipper Windpower. Each of the wind turbines is about 415 feet tall...

 under a 20 year contract.

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative was a member of the cooperative until 31 December 2008, when it terminated its contract.

TEC Trading is a Class B member of Old Dominion and is owned by ODEC's member cooperatives. TEC purchases excess power from Old Dominion and sells it on the market.

Members

• A&N Electric Cooperative
• BARC Electric Cooperative
• Choptank Electric Cooperative
  Choptank Electric
  Choptank Electric Cooperative Incorporated is a not-for-profit energy organization formed on September 21, 1938. Its first electric distribution lines were energized in December 1939 in Caroline County, Maryland...
  
  
• Community Electric Cooperative
• Delaware Electric Cooperative
• Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative
• Northern Neck Electric Cooperative
• Prince George Electric Cooperative
• Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
• Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative
• Southside Electric Cooperative

Further Reading and Recent News

"Surry Board of Supervisor approves controversial coal plant" Daily Press, Feb. 5, 2010 http://www.dailypress.com/news/dplocal_surryplant_0206feb06,0,1201614.story

"Surry power plant now faces last local hurdle" Daily Press, Feb. 2, 2010 http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_dendron_0203feb03,0,5246284.story

"Facing objections, company eyes second power plant site" The Virginian-Pilot, Jan. 31, 2010 http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/facing-objections-company-eyes-second-power-plant-site

"Consider power plant from regional perspective" Tidewater News, Jan. 30, 2010 http://www.tidewaternews.com/news/2010/jan/30/consider-power-plant-regional-perspective/

"IOW wants more information on proposed coal plant" Tidewater News, Jan. 23, 2010 http://www.tidewaternews.com/news/2010/jan/23/iow-wants-more-information-proposed-coal-plant/

"Surry Coal Plant Pros and Cons" Richmond Times Dispatch, May 17, 2009 http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/article/COAL17_20090516-210804/268196/

"Proposed coal plant clears another hurdle" Daily Press, Dec. 16, 2009 http://articles.dailypress.com/2009-12-16/news/0912150091_1_dendron-town-council-cypress-creek-power-station-dominion-electric-cooperative

"Virginia's Energy Future-Energy on land" HearSay with Cathy Lewis, WHRV FM, Feb. 26, 2010 http://www.hearsay.org/2010/02/26/default.aspx