9th largest plant in Colorado · 677th nationally
Pawnee is a coal power plant in Colorado with a nameplate capacity of 552 MW. It generates roughly 2.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 258,266 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 56% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2506 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 (552 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 | Pawnee |
|---|---|
| Operator | Public Service Co Of Colorado |
| City | Brush |
| County | Morgan County |
| State | Colorado |
| ZIP | 80723 |
| Coordinates | 40.22170, -103.68030 |
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 | 552 MW | Operating | 1981 |
| CO₂ | 3.4M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1.5k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 782 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2506 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 | Public Service Company Of Colorado |
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.