24th largest plant in Illinois · 597th nationally
Newton is a coal power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 617 MW. It generates roughly 3.1M MWh per year — enough to power about 293,547 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 57% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2462 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 (617 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 | Newton |
|---|---|
| Operator | Illinois Power Generating Co |
| City | Newton |
| County | Jasper County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 62448 |
| Coordinates | 38.93610, -88.27810 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 617 MW | Operating | 1977 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | RC | 617 MW | Retired | 1982 |
| CO₂ | 3.8M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 7.4k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 2.1k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2462 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.. |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.