16th largest plant in Colorado · 856th nationally
Jm Shafer Generating Station is a natural gas power plant in Colorado with a nameplate capacity of 397 MW. It generates roughly 1.1M MWh per year — enough to power about 100,026 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 30% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1010 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 (397 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 | Jm Shafer Generating Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Tri-State G & T Assn, Inc |
| City | Ft. Lupton |
| County | Weld County |
| State | Colorado |
| ZIP | 80621 |
| Coordinates | 40.09860, -104.77360 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMA | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 58.5 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| LMB | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 58.5 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| LMC | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 58.5 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| LMD | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 58.5 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| LME | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 58.5 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| STA | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 52.2 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| STB | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 52.2 MW | Operating | 1994 |
| CO₂ | 530.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 3 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 411 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1010 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 | Public Service Company Of Colorado |
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.