66th largest plant in New Mexico · 4305th nationally
Quay County is a oil power plant in New Mexico with a nameplate capacity of 27.0 MW. It generates roughly 858 MWh per year — enough to power about 81 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 165939 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Quay County |
|---|---|
| Operator | Southwestern Public Service Co |
| City | Tucumcari |
| County | Quay County |
| State | New Mexico |
| ZIP | 88401 |
| Coordinates | 35.18278, -103.73111 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 27.0 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| CO₂ | 71.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 220 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 385 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 165939 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 | Southwest Power Pool |
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.