31st largest plant in Arizona · 819th nationally
Cholla is a coal power plant in Arizona with a nameplate capacity of 426 MW. It generates roughly 1.8M MWh per year — enough to power about 170,257 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 48% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2542 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 (426 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 | Cholla |
|---|---|
| Operator | Arizona Public Service Co |
| City | Joseph City |
| County | Navajo County |
| State | Arizona |
| ZIP | 86032 |
| Coordinates | 34.93940, -110.30330 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 414 MW | Retired | 1981 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 312 MW | Operating | 1980 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 289 MW | Retired | 1978 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 114 MW | Operating | 1962 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pacificorp | Portland, OR | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 2.3M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 919 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 2.0k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2542 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 | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Arizona Public Service Company |
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.