6th largest plant in Colorado · 523rd nationally
Rocky Mountain Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Colorado with a nameplate capacity of 685 MW. It generates roughly 2.4M MWh per year — enough to power about 227,102 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 40% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 992 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 (685 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 | Rocky Mountain Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Public Service Co Of Colorado |
| City | Keenesburg |
| County | Weld County |
| State | Colorado |
| ZIP | 80643 |
| Coordinates | 40.09080, -104.59530 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 335 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 175 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 175 MW | Operating | 2004 |
| CO₂ | 1.2M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 6 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 85 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 992 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 | Public Service Company Of Colorado |
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.