14th largest plant in Kentucky · 635th nationally
R D Green is a natural gas power plant in Kentucky with a nameplate capacity of 586 MW. It generates roughly 143.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 13,685 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 3% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1642 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 (586 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 | R D Green |
|---|---|
| Operator | Big Rivers Electric Corp |
| City | Robards |
| County | Webster County |
| State | Kentucky |
| ZIP | 42452 |
| Coordinates | 37.64610, -87.50000 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 293 MW | Operating | 1979 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 293 MW | Operating | 1981 |
| CO₂ | 118.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 79 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1642 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.