25th largest plant in Illinois · 600th nationally
Cordova Energy is a natural gas power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 611 MW. It generates roughly 770.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 73,356 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 14% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 834 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 (611 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 | Cordova Energy |
|---|---|
| Operator | Cordova Energy Co Llc |
| City | Cordova |
| County | Rock Island County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 61242 |
| Coordinates | 41.71222, -90.27968 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT11 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 210 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| PT21 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 210 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| PT31 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 191 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CO₂ | 321.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 37 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 834 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.