17th largest plant in Arizona · 495th nationally
South Point Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Arizona with a nameplate capacity of 708 MW. It generates roughly 2.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 254,454 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 43% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 913 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 (708 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 | South Point Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | South Point Energy Center Llc |
| City | Mohave Valley |
| County | Mohave County |
| State | Arizona |
| ZIP | 86440 |
| Coordinates | 34.86780, -114.53170 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 236 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 236 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 236 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CO₂ | 1.2M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 6 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 95 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 913 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 | Western Area Power Administration - Desert Southwest Region |
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.