55th largest plant in Louisiana · 3113th nationally
Lepa Unit No. 1 is a natural gas power plant in Louisiana with a nameplate capacity of 74.1 MW. It generates roughly 183.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 17,443 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 28% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 990 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 (74.1 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 | Lepa Unit No. 1 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Louisiana Energy & Power Authority |
| City | Morgan City |
| County | St Mary County |
| State | Louisiana |
| ZIP | 70380 |
| Coordinates | 29.69111, -91.19278 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEPA1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 57.0 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| LEPA2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.1 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| CO₂ | 90.7k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 24 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 990 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 | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
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.