Kenneth C Coleman is retired. EIA's monthly generator inventory (EIA-860M, August 2026) lists every generator at this coal plant as retired; the last one retired in September 2020. It is not counted among Kentucky's operating plants or in any ranking on this site.
The figures below describe the plant when it ran: equipment from EIA Form 860 (2024).
The 602 MW is nameplate capacity: the most this plant's generators are rated to produce, not what it actually generates. EPA eGRID reports no positive net generation for it this year.
How it works
Why the numbers look like this: a boiler and turbine this size take hours to bring up from cold, so steam plants were built to run steadily for long stretches. A steam plant with a low capacity factor is usually being held in reserve, or run only through the hottest and coldest weeks.
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| Address | 4982 River Road |
|---|---|
| City | Hawesville |
| County | Hancock County |
| State | Kentucky |
| ZIP | 42348 |
| Coordinates | 37.96310, -86.79110 |
| Operator | Big Rivers Electric Corp |
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Nameplate capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 205 MW | Retired | 1969 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 205 MW | Retired | 1970 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 192 MW | Retired | 1971 |
| NERC Region | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.