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North Anna Energy Center
North Anna Power Station
Overview
North Anna Power Station (North Anna) is at Lake Anna in Louisa County, Virginia. It is an important power station for the state. The station makes about 15% of Virginia’s power and more than 43% of its clean, carbon free energy. North Anna provides safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy for up to 475,000 homes.
Key Facts
- North Anna is a nuclear power station with two units. Each unit produces about 945 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Together, they provide power for up to 475,000 homes.
- North Anna is owned by Dominion Energy and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC). Dominion Energy owns 88.4% and ODEC owns 11.6%. Dominion Energy also operates the station.
- The station is almost 50 years old. Thanks to the hard work of about 800 full time workers that help keep it running safely, it is expected to operate for decades more.
- All spent nuclear fuel from North Anna is stored safely on-site.
- North Anna benefits the local community by providing about $11 million in local taxes to Louisa County and donating thousands of dollars to groups around Lake Anna.
Lake Anna Reservoir & Waste Heat Treatment Facility
Lake Anna Reservoir (Lake Anna) and the Waste Heat Treatment Facility (WHTF) are important to providing safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy to people in Virginia. They also give people a place to enjoy boating, fishing, and other outdoor activities.
Together, Lake Anna and the WHTF make up one of the largest inland freshwater lakes in Virginia. The lake covers about 13,000 acres. It is about 17.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, with nearly 200 miles of shoreline. Lake Anna is one of the most popular recreational lakes in the state. Lake Anna is often called the “public” side, while the WHTF is known as the “private” side.
The North Anna Power Station takes water from Lake Anna and releases it into the WHTF after it is used to cool the station. This water never touches the nuclear fuel. When the station is running at full power, about 2 million gallons of water move through it every minute. Because of this, the water level in Lake Anna naturally rises and falls around 250 feet above mean sea level. Normal water levels are usually between 249 and 251 feet above mean sea level. Water levels in the WHTF are usually about 8 inches lower during refueling outages and in winter, when circulating water pumps may be slowed or turned off.
History
Lake Anna and the WHTF were created in the 1960s and 1970s by Dominion Energy. At that time, the company was called Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCo). The lake was built to help cool the North Anna Power Station.
In 1968, the company bought about 18,000 acres of land. Workers cleared the land to create Lake Anna, which covers about 9,600 acres, and the 3,400 acre WHTF. The lake was formed by building a dam on the North Anna River.
The dam gates were closed in January 1972. The lake was expected to fill slowly over three years using rainwater. However, on June 21 and 22, 1972, heavy rains from Hurricane Agnes filled the lake almost overnight. By December 1972, the water level reached its full height of 250 feet above mean sea level.
Lake Anna, WHTF & Shoreland Management
The main purpose of Lake Anna and the WHTF is to support operations at North Anna. Dominion Energy works to protect the power station, its employees, the environment, and the public.
Property owners who want to build structures or make changes along the shoreline must follow Dominion Energy’s guidelines. They must also apply for approval before starting any work. The Construction and Use Agreement helps explain what types of activities are allowed for property owners next to Dominion Energy’s shoreline around Lake Anna and the WHTF.
Dominion Energy also uses a Management Plan to guide how the WHTF is managed.
In both Lake Anna and the WHTF, aquatic plants play an important role. These plants help reduce harmful algae, protect shorelines from erosion, and keep the lake bottom stable. They also create homes for fish, improve muddy areas, and help clean the water by removing extra nutrients and waste. To protect native plants and limit the spread of invasive species, Dominion Energy follows a Vegetation Control Policy.
To improve boating safety, Virginia and other states use a standard system of water markers. On Lake Anna, boaters can request navigation or regulatory markers by applying to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) through the local counties of Louisa, Orange, or Spotsylvania. For the WHTF, anyone who wants to request markers should review Dominion Energy’s WHTF Buoy Guidelines and Hazard Buoy Application Process.
Lake Anna Conditions
Lake Anna's water level and temperature readings are updated once each weekday. The temperature is measured in water being drawn directly from the main lake into the station's intake. The lake level is based on feet above sea level as measured at the main dam.
| Date | Temperature (deg. F) | Lake Level (ft.) |
|---|---|---|
| 5/24/2026 | 71 | 248.7 |
WHTF Water Temperatures
By design, the temperature of the discharge water is typically 14 degrees warmer than the intake water (displayed above). Intake temperatures can fluctuate with seasons or weather conditions. The data below is posted daily, M-F, as a public service.
| Date | Time | Discharge Temp. (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| 4/29/2026 | 6:30 a.m. | 84.3° |
| 4/28/2026 | 6:50 a.m. | 83.9° |
| 4/27/2026 | 7:40 a.m. | 84.1° |
WHTF Considerations
As the discharge water flows into the WHTF, it gradually cools and is eventually returned to the main lake. The period of primary recreational use in the WHTF (May 1 – October 31) is typically the period with the highest water temperatures. Individuals choosing to use the lagoons for recreational purposes should consider these temperatures in relation to health risk information contained on the Virginia Department of Health's website.