10th largest plant in Wisconsin · 664th nationally
Rockgen Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Wisconsin with a nameplate capacity of 561 MW. It generates roughly 547.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 52,122 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 11% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1403 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Rockgen Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Dairyland Power Coop |
| City | Cambridge |
| County | Dane County |
| State | Wisconsin |
| ZIP | 53523 |
| Coordinates | 42.97670, -89.04920 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 187 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 02 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 187 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 03 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 187 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CO₂ | 383.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 124 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1403 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| 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.