10th largest plant in Michigan · 249th nationally
New Covert Generating Facility is a natural gas power plant in Michigan with a nameplate capacity of 1,176 MW. It generates roughly 7.6M MWh per year — enough to power about 719,195 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 73% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 860 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 (1,176 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 | New Covert Generating Facility |
|---|---|
| Operator | Consumers Energy Co - (Mi) |
| City | Covert |
| County | Van Buren County |
| State | Michigan |
| ZIP | 49043 |
| Coordinates | 42.32238, -86.29368 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 245 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 245 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 245 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| 1A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| 2A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| 3A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| CO₂ | 3.2M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 16 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 188 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 860 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 | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
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.