22nd largest plant in Hawaii · 3948th nationally
Puna is a oil power plant in Hawaii with a nameplate capacity of 39.1 MW. It generates roughly 51.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,869 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 15% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2141 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 (39.1 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 | Puna |
|---|---|
| Operator | Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc |
| City | Keaau |
| County | Hawaii County |
| State | Hawaii |
| ZIP | 96749 |
| Coordinates | 19.63160, -155.03130 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 23.6 MW | Operating | 1992 |
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Residual Oil | 15.5 MW | Operating | 1988 |
| CO₂ | 54.7k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 169 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 297 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2141 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.
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.