7th largest plant in Nevada · 518th nationally
Higgins Generating Station is a natural gas power plant in Nevada with a nameplate capacity of 688 MW. It generates roughly 2.1M MWh per year — enough to power about 203,977 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 36% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 906 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 (688 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 | Higgins Generating Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Nevada Power Co |
| City | Primm |
| County | Clark County |
| State | Nevada |
| ZIP | 89019 |
| Coordinates | 35.61390, -115.35610 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 332 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| A01 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 178 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| A02 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 178 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| CO₂ | 970.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 5 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 74 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 906 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 | Nevada Power Company |
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.