9th largest plant in Missouri · 410th nationally
Audrain Generating Station is a natural gas power plant in Missouri with a nameplate capacity of 814 MW. It generates roughly 196.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 18,685 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 3% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1436 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Audrain Generating Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Union Electric Co - (Mo) |
| City | Vandalia |
| County | Audrain County |
| State | Missouri |
| ZIP | 63382 |
| Coordinates | 39.30920, -91.53690 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 102 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CO₂ | 140.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 29 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1436 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 | SERC |
|---|---|
| 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.