212th largest plant in Illinois · 8991st nationally
Lake Forest Hospital Central Energy Plan is a natural gas power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 3.2 MW. It generates roughly 290 MWh per year — enough to power about 27 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1296 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Lake Forest Hospital Central Energy Plan |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital |
| City | Lake Forest |
| County | Lake County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 60045 |
| Coordinates | 42.25416, -87.86428 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 0.8 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| GEN2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 0.8 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| GEN3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 0.8 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| GEN4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 0.8 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| CO₂ | 188 metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 4 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1296 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 | RFC |
|---|---|
| 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.