114th largest plant in Kansas · 5627th nationally
Sterling is a oil power plant in Kansas with a nameplate capacity of 10.3 MW. It generates roughly 157 MWh per year — enough to power about 14 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1680 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Sterling |
|---|---|
| Operator | City Of Sterling - (Ks) |
| City | Sterling |
| County | Rice County |
| State | Kansas |
| ZIP | 67579 |
| Coordinates | 38.21430, -98.20710 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 3.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.5 MW | Operating | 1962 |
| 5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.4 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.4 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.4 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.1 MW | Operating | 1955 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 0.5 MW | Operating | 1950 |
| CO₂ | 132 metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 1 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1680 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.