97th largest plant in Kansas · 5061st nationally
Colby is a natural gas power plant in Kansas with a nameplate capacity of 16.0 MW. It generates roughly 1.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 150 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2162 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Colby |
|---|---|
| Operator | Midwest Energy Inc - (Ks) |
| City | Colby |
| County | Thomas County |
| State | Kansas |
| ZIP | 67701 |
| Coordinates | 39.40300, -101.03820 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 16.0 MW | Operating | 1970 |
| CO₂ | 1.7k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 5 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2162 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.