78th largest plant in Colorado · 4046th nationally
Colorado Energy Nations Company is a natural gas power plant in Colorado with a nameplate capacity of 35.0 MW. It generates roughly 137.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 13,073 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 45% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 668 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 (35.0 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 | Colorado Energy Nations Company |
|---|---|
| Operator | Molson Coors Usa Llc |
| City | Golden |
| County | Jefferson County |
| State | Colorado |
| ZIP | 80401 |
| Coordinates | 39.76060, -105.21500 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 20.0 MW | Operating | 1983 |
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 7.5 MW | Operating | 1976 |
| GEN2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 7.5 MW | Operating | 1977 |
| VBPT | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 0.4 MW | Retired | 1997 |
| CO₂ | 45.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 63 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 668 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 | Public Service Company Of Colorado |
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.