115th largest plant in Iowa · 3931st nationally
Iowa State University is a natural gas power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 39.8 MW. It generates roughly 70.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 6,734 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 20% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 663 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 (39.8 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 | Iowa State University |
|---|---|
| Operator | Iowa State University |
| City | Ames |
| County | Story County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50011 |
| Coordinates | 42.02750, -93.63940 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN6 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 15.1 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| GEN3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 13.2 MW | Operating | 1978 |
| GEN5 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 11.5 MW | Operating | 1970 |
| GEN4 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 6.2 MW | Retired | 1960 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 3.0 MW | Retired | 1949 |
| CO₂ | 23.4k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 15 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 663 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 | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
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.