3rd largest plant in Alaska · 1436th nationally
Southcentral Power Project is a natural gas power plant in Alaska with a nameplate capacity of 204 MW. It generates roughly 905.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 86,218 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 51% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 1009 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 (204 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 | Southcentral Power Project |
|---|---|
| Operator | Chugach Electric Assn Inc |
| City | Anchorage |
| County | Anchorage County |
| State | Alaska |
| ZIP | 99519 |
| Coordinates | 61.16742, -149.90530 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 57.5 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 48.8 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 48.8 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 48.8 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Chugach Electric Assn Inc | Anchorage, AK | 7000.0% |
| Anchorage Municipal Light And Power | Anchorage, AK | 3000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 456.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 1.3k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1009 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.
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.