6th largest plant in Kansas · 720th nationally
Lawrence Energy Center is a coal power plant in Kansas with a nameplate capacity of 517 MW. It generates roughly 1.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 164,947 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 38% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2311 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 (517 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 | Lawrence Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Evergy Kansas Central, Inc |
| City | Lawrence |
| County | Douglas County |
| State | Kansas |
| ZIP | 66049 |
| Coordinates | 39.00720, -95.26917 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 403 MW | Operating | 1971 |
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 114 MW | Operating | 1960 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 49.0 MW | Retired | 1955 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 38.0 MW | Retired | 1952 |
| CO₂ | 2.0M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 272 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 1.2k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2311 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
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.