4th largest plant in Wisconsin · 229th nationally
Port Washington Generating Station is a natural gas power plant in Wisconsin with a nameplate capacity of 1,230 MW. It generates roughly 8.5M MWh per year — enough to power about 806,706 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 79% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 820 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 (1,230 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 | Port Washington Generating Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Wisconsin Electric Power Co |
| City | Port Washington |
| County | Ozaukee County |
| State | Wisconsin |
| ZIP | 53074 |
| Coordinates | 43.38420, -87.86890 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 269 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| ST2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 269 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| 1CT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 173 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 1CT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 173 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 2CT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 173 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| 2CT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 173 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 80.0 MW | Retired | 1935 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 80.0 MW | Retired | 1943 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 80.0 MW | Retired | 1948 |
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 80.0 MW | Retired | 1949 |
| 6 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 19.6 MW | Retired | 1969 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| We Power | Milwaukee, WI | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 3.5M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 18 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 285 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 820 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 | RFC |
|---|---|
| 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.