8th largest plant in Georgia · 242nd nationally
Thomas A Smith Energy Facility is a natural gas power plant in Georgia with a nameplate capacity of 1,192 MW. It generates roughly 8.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 832,253 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 84% means it runs nearly around-the-clock as baseload generation. At 865 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 (1,192 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 | Thomas A Smith Energy Facility |
|---|---|
| Operator | Oglethorpe Power Corporation |
| City | Dalton |
| County | Murray County |
| State | Georgia |
| ZIP | 30721 |
| Coordinates | 34.70940, -84.91750 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1STG | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 302 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 2STG | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 302 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 1GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 1GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 2GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 2GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 147 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CO₂ | 3.8M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 19 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 307 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 865 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.