31st largest plant in Illinois · 785th nationally
Raccoon Creek Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 456 MW. It generates roughly 778 MWh per year — enough to power about 74 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1318 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Raccoon Creek Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Union Electric Co - (Mo) |
| City | Flora |
| County | Clay County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 62839 |
| Coordinates | 38.69960, -88.53920 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT01 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT02 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT03 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CT04 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 114 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CO₂ | 513 metric tons |
|---|---|
| CO₂ Rate | 1318 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.