29th largest plant in Texas · 287th nationally
Harrington is a coal power plant in Texas with a nameplate capacity of 1,080 MW. It generates roughly 3.2M MWh per year — enough to power about 305,837 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 34% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2367 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 (1,080 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 | Harrington |
|---|---|
| Operator | Southwestern Public Service Co |
| City | Amarillo |
| County | Potter County |
| State | Texas |
| ZIP | 79108 |
| Coordinates | 35.29816, -101.74719 |
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 Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 360 MW | Operating | 1976 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 360 MW | Operating | 1978 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 360 MW | Operating | 1980 |
| CO₂ | 3.8M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 10.5k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 2.3k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2367 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 |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.