21st largest plant in Iowa · 1099th nationally
Burlington (Ia) is a natural gas power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 291 MW. It generates roughly 6.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 654 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 3631 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 (291 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 | Burlington (Ia) |
|---|---|
| Operator | Interstate Power And Light Co |
| City | Burlington |
| County | Des Moines County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 52601 |
| Coordinates | 40.74120, -91.11667 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 212 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 19.7 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 19.7 MW | Operating | 1995 |
| GT3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 19.7 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| GT4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 19.7 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| CO₂ | 12.5k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 7 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 3631 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| 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.