11th largest plant in Nevada · 702nd nationally
Desert Star Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Nevada with a nameplate capacity of 537 MW. It generates roughly 1.6M MWh per year — enough to power about 156,896 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 35% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 908 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 (537 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 | Desert Star Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Desert Star Energy Center Sdg&e |
| City | Boulder City |
| County | Clark County |
| State | Nevada |
| ZIP | 89005 |
| Coordinates | 35.78889, -114.99417 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ED03 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 196 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| ED01 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 171 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| ED02 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 171 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| CO₂ | 748.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 4 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 76 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 908 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 | California Independent System Operator |
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.