40th largest plant in Alaska · 4997th nationally
Barrow is a natural gas power plant in Alaska with a nameplate capacity of 17.3 MW. It generates roughly 46.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,444 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 31% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1937 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Barrow |
|---|---|
| Operator | Barrow Utils & Elec Coop, Inc |
| City | Barrow |
| County | North Slope County |
| State | Alaska |
| ZIP | 99723 |
| Coordinates | 71.29200, -156.77860 |
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 5.0 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 11 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.8 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1977 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1980 |
| 8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1982 |
| 10 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.5 MW | Retired | 1994 |
| 9 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.5 MW | Retired | 1994 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| North Slope Borough Power & Light | Utqiagvik, AK | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 45.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 124 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1937 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.
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.