156th largest plant in Oregon · 6568th nationally
Oregon State University Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Oregon with a nameplate capacity of 6.5 MW. It generates roughly 35.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,375 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 62% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 445 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 (6.5 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 | Oregon State University Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Oregon State University |
| City | Corvallis |
| County | Benton County |
| State | Oregon |
| ZIP | 97331 |
| Coordinates | 44.56433, -123.28909 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTG | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 5.5 MW | Operating | 2010 |
| STG | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 1.0 MW | Out of Service | 2010 |
| CO₂ | 7.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 25 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 445 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 | Bonneville Power Administration |
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.