182nd largest plant in Pennsylvania · 6462nd nationally
East Campus Steam Plant is a natural gas power plant in Pennsylvania with a nameplate capacity of 7.0 MW. It generates roughly 46.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,460 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 76% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 595 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | East Campus Steam Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Penn State University |
| City | University Park |
| County | Centre County |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| ZIP | 16802 |
| Coordinates | 40.80917, -77.84750 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 7.0 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CO₂ | 13.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 38 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 595 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.