12th largest plant in Kansas · 931st nationally
Holcomb is a coal power plant in Kansas with a nameplate capacity of 349 MW. It generates roughly 1.6M MWh per year — enough to power about 150,917 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 52% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2238 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 (349 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 | Holcomb |
|---|---|
| Operator | Sunflower Electric Power Corp |
| City | Holcomb |
| County | Finney County |
| State | Kansas |
| ZIP | 67851 |
| Coordinates | 37.93080, -100.97250 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 349 MW | Operating | 1983 |
| CO₂ | 1.8M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1.2k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 1.6k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2238 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.