11th largest plant in Louisiana · 326th nationally
Plaquemine Cogeneration Plant is a natural gas power plant in Louisiana with a nameplate capacity of 987 MW. It generates roughly 5.0M MWh per year — enough to power about 473,250 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 57% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 705 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 (987 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 | Plaquemine Cogeneration Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Dow Chemical Co |
| City | Plaquemine |
| County | Iberville County |
| State | Louisiana |
| ZIP | 70765 |
| Coordinates | 30.32170, -91.23470 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G500 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 198 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| G600 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 198 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| G700 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 198 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| G800 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 198 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| ST5 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 195 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| ST6 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 48.9 MW | Operating | 2024 |
| ST7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 48.9 MW | Operating | 2024 |
| CO₂ | 1.8M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 6 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 257 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 705 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.. |
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.