198th largest plant in Michigan · 7981st nationally
Central Michigan University is a natural gas power plant in Michigan with a nameplate capacity of 4.8 MW. It generates roughly 28.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,705 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 68% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 616 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (4.8 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 Michigan University |
|---|---|
| Operator | Central Michigan University |
| City | Mt. Pleasant |
| County | Isabella County |
| State | Michigan |
| ZIP | 48859 |
| Coordinates | 43.59046, -84.77900 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 3.8 MW | Operating | 1990 |
| STM1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 1.0 MW | Operating | 1987 |
| CO₂ | 8.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 22 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 616 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 | 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.