18th largest plant in Michigan · 786th nationally
Alpine Power Plant is a natural gas power plant in Michigan with a nameplate capacity of 454 MW. It generates roughly 816.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 77,756 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 21% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1298 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Alpine Power Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Wolverine Power Supply Coop |
| City | Elmira |
| County | Otsego County |
| State | Michigan |
| ZIP | 49730 |
| Coordinates | 45.06375, -84.82535 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 227 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| AI2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 227 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| CO₂ | 530.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 3 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 117 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1298 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.