78th largest plant in Kansas · 4223rd nationally
Clay Center is a natural gas power plant in Kansas with a nameplate capacity of 29.9 MW. It generates roughly 193 MWh per year — enough to power about 18 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 10202 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Clay Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | City Of Clay Center - (Ks) |
| City | Clay Center |
| County | Clay County |
| State | Kansas |
| ZIP | 67432 |
| Coordinates | 39.37397, -97.12721 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IC6 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 6.8 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| IC3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.1 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 5.0 MW | Operating | 1961 |
| IC4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 3.5 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| IC5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 3.5 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| 5 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 3.0 MW | Operating | 1948 |
| IC2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 2.1 MW | Operating | 1966 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 1.5 MW | Retired | 1942 |
| IC1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 0.9 MW | Operating | 1958 |
| CO₂ | 984 metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 23 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 10202 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
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.