22nd largest plant in Alaska · 4288th nationally
Chena Power Plant is a coal power plant in Alaska with a nameplate capacity of 27.5 MW. It generates roughly 143.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 13,653 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 60% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 1922 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 (27.5 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 | Chena Power Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Aurora Energy Llc |
| City | Fairbanks |
| County | Fairbanks North Star County |
| State | Alaska |
| ZIP | 99701 |
| Coordinates | 64.84774, -147.73506 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 20.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 5.0 MW | Operating | 1952 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1952 |
| 7 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 2.3 MW | Indef Postponed | — |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 1.5 MW | Retired | 1952 |
| CO₂ | 137.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 94 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 225 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1922 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.
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.