11th largest plant in Alaska · 2921st nationally
Hank Nikkels Plant 1 is a natural gas power plant in Alaska with a nameplate capacity of 77.9 MW. It generates roughly 37.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,530 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 5% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1306 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Hank Nikkels Plant 1 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Chugach Electric Assn Inc |
| City | Anchorage |
| County | Anchorage County |
| State | Alaska |
| ZIP | 99501 |
| Coordinates | 61.22210, -149.86610 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3R | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.9 MW | Operating | 2007 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 27.0 MW | Out of Service | 1972 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 16.3 MW | Retired | 1968 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 12.5 MW | Retired | 1962 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 12.5 MW | Retired | 1962 |
| P1 BS | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Operating | 2012 |
| D1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 1.1 MW | Retired | 1956 |
| D2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 1.1 MW | Retired | 1947 |
| CO₂ | 24.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 66 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1306 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.
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.