23rd largest plant in Maryland · 3477th nationally
Central Utility Plant At White Oak is a natural gas power plant in Maryland with a nameplate capacity of 54.3 MW. It generates roughly 97.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 9,241 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 20% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1281 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 (54.3 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 Utility Plant At White Oak |
|---|---|
| Operator | Gsa Metropolitan Service Center |
| City | Silver Spring |
| County | Montgomery County |
| State | Maryland |
| ZIP | 20903 |
| Coordinates | 39.03944, -76.98250 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 7.5 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| G8 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 7.5 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| G1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| G12 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 5.0 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| G9 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 4.5 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| G3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.3 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| G4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.3 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| G5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.3 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| G6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.3 MW | Operating | 2010 |
| G10 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.3 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| G11 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.3 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| G2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.3 MW | Standby | 2003 |
| CO₂ | 62.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 3 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 195 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1281 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 |
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.