72nd largest plant in Indiana · 3830th nationally
Purdue University is a natural gas power plant in Indiana with a nameplate capacity of 43.3 MW. It generates roughly 143.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 13,679 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 38% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (43.3 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 | Purdue University |
|---|---|
| Operator | Purdue University |
| City | West Lafayette |
| County | Tippecanoe County |
| State | Indiana |
| ZIP | 47907 |
| Coordinates | 40.41720, -86.91220 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 30.8 MW | Operating | 1995 |
| GEN2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 10.7 MW | Operating | 1969 |
| GEN3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 1.8 MW | Operating | 2000 |
| NOₓ | 47 metric tons |
|---|
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.