4th largest plant in Arizona · 177th nationally
Mesquite Generating Station Block 2 is a natural gas power plant in Arizona with a nameplate capacity of 1,383 MW. It generates roughly 7.6M MWh per year — enough to power about 725,051 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 63% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 870 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 (1,383 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 | Mesquite Generating Station Block 2 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Mesquite Power Llc |
| City | Arlington |
| County | Maricopa County |
| State | Arizona |
| ZIP | 85322 |
| Coordinates | 33.34505, -112.86423 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 321 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| GT3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 185 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| GT4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 185 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CO₂ | 3.3M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 17 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 240 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 870 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 | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Salt River Project |
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.