21st largest plant in Arizona · 582nd nationally
Ocotillo is a natural gas power plant in Arizona with a nameplate capacity of 626 MW. It generates roughly 640.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 61,035 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 12% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1054 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Ocotillo |
|---|---|
| Operator | Arizona Public Service Co |
| City | Tempe |
| County | Maricopa County |
| State | Arizona |
| ZIP | 85281 |
| Coordinates | 33.42250, -111.91220 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 140 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| GT4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 140 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| GT5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 140 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| GT6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 140 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| GT7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 140 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Retired | 1960 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Retired | 1960 |
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 53.1 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 53.1 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| PVM | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 0.4 MW | Retired | 1988 |
| PV1 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 0.1 MW | Retired | 1998 |
| PV2 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 0.1 MW | Retired | 1999 |
| CO₂ | 337.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 24 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1054 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 | Arizona Public Service Company |
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.