83rd largest plant in Louisiana · 6341st nationally
Louisiana Tech University Power Plant is a natural gas power plant in Louisiana with a nameplate capacity of 7.5 MW. It generates roughly 46.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,441 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 71% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 614 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Louisiana Tech University Power Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Louisiana Tech University |
| City | Ruston |
| County | Lincoln County |
| State | Louisiana |
| ZIP | 71272 |
| Coordinates | 32.52560, -92.64970 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 7.5 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| TG2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 5.0 MW | Retired | 1983 |
| TG1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.5 MW | Retired | 1963 |
| CO₂ | 14.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 39 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 614 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.