11th largest plant in Alabama · 352nd nationally
Central Alabama Generating Station is a natural gas power plant in Alabama with a nameplate capacity of 927 MW. It generates roughly 4.8M MWh per year — enough to power about 454,258 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 59% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 886 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 (927 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 | Central Alabama Generating Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Alabama Power Co |
| City | Billingsley |
| County | Autauga County |
| State | Alabama |
| ZIP | 36006 |
| Coordinates | 32.64970, -86.74000 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 390 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 179 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 179 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 179 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CO₂ | 2.1M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 11 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 163 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 886 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 | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southern Company Services, Inc. - Trans |
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.