22nd largest plant in Illinois · 572nd nationally
Grand Tower Energy Center Llc is a natural gas power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 641 MW.
| Plant Name | Grand Tower Energy Center Llc |
|---|---|
| Operator | Mainline Generation Llc |
| City | Grand Tower |
| County | Jackson County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 62942 |
| Coordinates | 37.65770, -89.51116 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 223 MW | Retired | 2001 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 223 MW | Retired | 2001 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Retired | 1958 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 80.9 MW | Retired | 1951 |
| NERC Region | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
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.