37th largest plant in Georgia · 1282nd nationally
Smarr Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Georgia with a nameplate capacity of 242 MW. It generates roughly 155.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 14,830 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 7% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1571 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Smarr Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Oglethorpe Power Corporation |
| City | Forsyth |
| County | Monroe County |
| State | Georgia |
| ZIP | 31029 |
| Coordinates | 32.98420, -83.84640 |
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 Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 121 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 121 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Smarr Emc | Tucker, GA | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 122.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 43 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1571 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 | Southern Company Services, Inc. - Trans |
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.