9th largest plant in Kentucky · 297th nationally
J K Smith is a natural gas power plant in Kentucky with a nameplate capacity of 1,055 MW. It generates roughly 414.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 39,435 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 4% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1481 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | J K Smith |
|---|---|
| Operator | East Kentucky Power Coop, Inc |
| City | Winchester |
| County | Clark County |
| State | Kentucky |
| ZIP | 40391 |
| Coordinates | 37.88330, -84.10170 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 329 MW | Cancelled | — |
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 149 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 149 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| GT3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 149 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| GT4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 108 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 108 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| GT10 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 98.0 MW | Operating | 2010 |
| GT11 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 98.0 MW | Cancelled | — |
| GT12 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 98.0 MW | Cancelled | — |
| GT6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 98.0 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| GT7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 98.0 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| GT9 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 98.0 MW | Operating | 2010 |
| GT8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 83.0 MW | Cancelled | — |
| CO₂ | 306.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 89 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1481 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 | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
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.