65th largest plant in Colorado · 3323rd nationally
George Birdsall is a natural gas power plant in Colorado with a nameplate capacity of 61.1 MW. It generates roughly 31.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,972 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 6% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1650 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 (61.1 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 | George Birdsall |
|---|---|
| Operator | City Of Colorado Springs - (Co) |
| City | Colorado Springs |
| County | El Paso County |
| State | Colorado |
| ZIP | 80907 |
| Coordinates | 38.88139, -104.81694 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 25.0 MW | Operating | 1957 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Operating | 1954 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 17.3 MW | Operating | 1953 |
| CO₂ | 25.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 36 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1650 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 | Western Area Power Administration - Rocky Mountain Region |
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.