4th largest plant in Kansas · 471st nationally
Emporia Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Kansas with a nameplate capacity of 730 MW. It generates roughly 1.2M MWh per year — enough to power about 115,489 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 19% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1444 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Emporia Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Evergy Kansas Central, Inc |
| City | Emporia |
| County | Lyon County |
| State | Kansas |
| ZIP | 66801 |
| Coordinates | 38.44588, -96.06525 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 171 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 171 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 171 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| CO₂ | 875.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 4 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 394 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1444 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.