13th largest plant in Alabama · 368th nationally
Morgan Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Alabama with a nameplate capacity of 900 MW. It generates roughly 5.4M MWh per year — enough to power about 516,424 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 69% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 789 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (900 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 | Morgan Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Morgan Energy Center Llc |
| City | Decatur |
| County | Morgan County |
| State | Alabama |
| ZIP | 35601 |
| Coordinates | 34.63970, -87.06390 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 270 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 210 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 210 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 210 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CO₂ | 2.1M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 11 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 129 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 789 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 | Tennessee Valley Authority |
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.