20th largest plant in Texas · 244th nationally
T H Wharton is a natural gas power plant in Texas with a nameplate capacity of 1,190 MW. It generates roughly 955.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 90,993 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 9% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 660 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (1,190 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 | T H Wharton |
|---|---|
| Operator | Nrg Texas Power Llc |
| City | Houston |
| County | Harris County |
| State | Texas |
| ZIP | 77064 |
| Coordinates | 29.94170, -95.53060 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 248 MW | Retired | 1960 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 113 MW | Operating | 1974 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 113 MW | Operating | 1974 |
| 51 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 85.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 52 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 85.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 53 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 85.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 54 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 85.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 55 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 85.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 56 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 85.0 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 43 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 56.7 MW | Operating | 1974 |
| 44 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 56.7 MW | Operating | 1974 |
| 31 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 32 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 33 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 34 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 41 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 42 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 16.3 MW | Operating | 1967 |
| CO₂ | 315.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 249 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 660 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 | TRE |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Electric Reliability Council Of Texas, Inc. |
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.