The 1950s-era, 227-megawatt plant is the oldest coal-fired facility in the company’s portfolio and has come to represent the sweeping nature of Dominion’s strategy to embrace alternative fuels.

The update of Bremo’s generating units will be the ninth such conversion of Dominion’s coal-fired plants in recent years.

The utility has also announced plans to shut down or convert all or part of five other coal-fired power stations and convert three small units to biomass.

The Chesapeake Energy Center and two units at Yorktown power station in Virginia, as well as the North Branch power station in West Virginia are scheduled to close by 2015.

Three small stations in Virginia will be converted to biomass by 2014.

Earlier this year, the company closed a coal plant in Indiana and announced the 2014 closing of a coal and oil-fired station in Massachusetts, which it subsequently sold.

Conversion of Bremo is expected to create an annual economic benefit of $US24 million when completed.

Dominion cited the high cost of retrofitting emission control equipment and the low price of natural gas as factors in its decision to convert the station.