3rd largest plant in Ohio · 87th nationally
Cardinal is a coal power plant in Ohio with a nameplate capacity of 1,880 MW. It generates roughly 9.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 921,891 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 59% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2091 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 (1,880 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 | Cardinal |
|---|---|
| Operator | Cardinal Operating Company |
| City | Brillant |
| County | Jefferson County |
| State | Ohio |
| ZIP | 43913 |
| Coordinates | 40.25220, -80.64860 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 650 MW | Operating | 1977 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 615 MW | Operating | 1967 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 615 MW | Operating | 1967 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Buckeye Power, Inc | Columbus, OH | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 10.1M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 10.7k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 3.6k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2091 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 |
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.