5th largest plant in Alabama · 77th nationally
H Allen Franklin Combined Cycle is a natural gas power plant in Alabama with a nameplate capacity of 1,996 MW. It generates roughly 13.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 1,303,063 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 78% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 817 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 (1,996 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 | H Allen Franklin Combined Cycle |
|---|---|
| Operator | Southern Power Co |
| City | Smiths |
| County | Lee County |
| State | Alabama |
| ZIP | 36877 |
| Coordinates | 32.60780, -85.09750 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 282 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| ST3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 282 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| ST4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 282 MW | Cancelled | — |
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 213 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT1A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT1B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT2A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT2B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT3A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| CT3B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| CT4A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Cancelled | — |
| CT4B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 203 MW | Cancelled | — |
| CO₂ | 5.6M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 28 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 395 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 817 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 | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southern Company Services, Inc. - Trans |
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.