6th largest plant in Utah · 725th nationally
Bonanza is a coal power plant in Utah with a nameplate capacity of 512 MW. It generates roughly 3.2M MWh per year — enough to power about 301,044 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 70% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2446 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (512 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Bonanza |
|---|---|
| Operator | Deseret Generation & Tran Coop |
| City | Vernal |
| County | Uintah County |
| State | Utah |
| ZIP | 84078 |
| Coordinates | 40.08640, -109.28440 |
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 500 MW | Operating | 1986 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | WC | 110 MW | Cancelled | — |
| 4 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 12.5 MW | Operating | 2023 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Deseret Generation & Tran Coop | South Jordan, UT | 9625.0% |
| Utah Municipal Power Agency | Spanish Fork, UT | 375.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 3.9M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 614 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 4.8k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2446 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 | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pacificorp - East |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.