16th largest plant in Illinois · 284th nationally
Aurora is a natural gas power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 1,086 MW. It generates roughly 415.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 39,553 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 4% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1155 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Aurora |
|---|---|
| Operator | Aurora Generation Llc |
| City | Aurora |
| County | Dupage County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 60504 |
| Coordinates | 41.81510, -88.22650 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 181 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 181 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 181 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 181 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG10 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG9 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CO₂ | 239.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 104 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1155 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 | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
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.