36th largest plant in Alabama · 2382nd nationally
International Paper Riverdale Mill is a natural gas power plant in Alabama with a nameplate capacity of 104 MW. It generates roughly 462.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 44,064 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 51% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 498 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (104 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 | International Paper Riverdale Mill |
|---|---|
| Operator | International Paper Co-Riverdl |
| City | Selma |
| County | Dallas County |
| State | Alabama |
| ZIP | 36703 |
| Coordinates | 32.42602, -86.87091 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 38.2 MW | Standby | 1994 |
| GEN2 | Wood/Wood Waste Biomass | Black Liquor | 37.4 MW | Operating | 1985 |
| GEN3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.0 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 11.6 MW | Operating | 1967 |
| CO₂ | 115.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 242 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 128 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 498 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.