54th largest plant in Colorado · 2271st nationally
Plains End is a natural gas power plant in Colorado with a nameplate capacity of 114 MW. It generates roughly 5.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 504 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1209 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Plains End |
|---|---|
| Operator | Plains End Operating Services Llc |
| City | Arvada |
| County | Jefferson County |
| State | Colorado |
| ZIP | 80001 |
| Coordinates | 39.85750, -105.22597 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE10 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE11 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE12 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE13 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE14 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE15 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE16 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE17 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE18 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE19 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GE20 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN6 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN7 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN8 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| GEN9 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 5.7 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CO₂ | 3.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 71 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1209 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 |
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.