73rd largest plant in Texas · 608th nationally
Topaz Generating is a natural gas power plant in Texas with a nameplate capacity of 605 MW. It generates roughly 722.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 68,795 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 14% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1214 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Topaz Generating |
|---|---|
| Operator | Proenergy Services |
| City | Texas City |
| County | Galveston County |
| State | Texas |
| ZIP | 77590 |
| Coordinates | 29.42639, -94.97667 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTG-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG-9 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG10 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Topaz Generating, Llc | Houston, TX | 10000.0% |
| Topaz Ii, Llc | Houston, TX | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 438.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 51 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1214 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.