80th largest plant in Pennsylvania · 3208th nationally
Chester Operations is a natural gas power plant in Pennsylvania with a nameplate capacity of 69.2 MW. It generates roughly 169.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 16,125 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 28% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 593 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 (69.2 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 | Chester Operations |
|---|---|
| Operator | Kimberly-Clark Corp |
| City | Chester |
| County | Delaware County |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| ZIP | 19013 |
| Coordinates | 39.84374, -75.35880 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Petroleum Coke | PC | 67.0 MW | Retired | 1986 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.3 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| 6A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.3 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.3 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| 7A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.3 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| CO₂ | 50.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 125 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 593 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.