Electric generating plantEIA plant no. 54705

Toca Plant

Type
Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
Status
Retired January 2019
Nameplate (when running)
2.8 MW
Units
4
In service since
1958–2001
Operator
Enterprise Products Optg LP
Location
St. Bernard, St Bernard County, Louisiana

Toca Plant is retired. EIA's monthly generator inventory (EIA-860M, August 2026) lists every generator at this natural gas plant as retired; the last one retired in January 2019. It is not counted among Louisiana's operating plants or in any ranking on this site.

The figures below describe the plant when it ran: equipment from EIA Form 860 (2024).

The 2.8 MW is nameplate capacity: the most this plant's generators are rated to produce, not what it actually generates. EPA eGRID reports no positive net generation for it this year.

How it works

A reciprocating-engine plant

natural gas1pistons fire like a car engine2generator
  1. natural gas burns in cylinders, driving pistons — the same principle as a truck engine, much larger.
  2. The crankshaft turns a generator.
  3. Plants are built from several identical engines, so they can run one at a time or all together.

Why the numbers look like this: engines start in minutes and come in small blocks, so they show up at landfills, on islands and as backup or peaking units — places that need power in small, fast pieces.

This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.

Natural GasSolar

Location

Address2404 Bayou Road
CitySt. Bernard
CountySt Bernard County
StateLouisiana
ZIP70085
Coordinates29.86670, -89.82610
OperatorEnterprise Products Optg LP

Generators (4)

IDTechnologyFuelNameplate capacityStatusOnline
EG-1Natural Gas Internal Combustion EngineNatural Gas0.8 MWRetired1958
EG-3Natural Gas Internal Combustion EngineNatural Gas0.8 MWRetired1958
EG-4Natural Gas Internal Combustion EngineNatural Gas0.7 MWRetired1997
EG2ANatural Gas Internal Combustion EngineNatural Gas0.5 MWRetired2001

Grid context

NERC RegionSERC
Balancing AuthorityMidcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..

About Natural Gas plants

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.

Other plants in St Bernard County

View all plants in St Bernard County →

Explore more