22nd largest plant in Hawaii · 3948th nationally
Kapaia Power Station is a oil power plant in Hawaii with a nameplate capacity of 39.1 MW. It generates roughly 179.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 17,047 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 52% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 1595 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Kapaia Power Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Kauai Island Utility Cooperative |
| City | Lihue |
| County | Kauai County |
| State | Hawaii |
| ZIP | 96766 |
| Coordinates | 21.99645, -159.37580 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 39.1 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CO₂ | 142.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 98 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 631 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1595 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.
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.