5th largest plant in District of Columbia · 8089th nationally
Ross Hall Central Utility Plant is a natural gas power plant in District of Columbia with a nameplate capacity of 4.6 MW. It generates roughly 9.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 853 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 22% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 968 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Ross Hall Central Utility Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | The George Washington University |
| City | Washington |
| County | District Of Columbia County |
| State | District of Columbia |
| ZIP | 20052 |
| Coordinates | 38.90022, -77.05079 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.6 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| CO₂ | 4.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 12 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 968 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 | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
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.