102nd largest plant in North Carolina · 4113th nationally
Univ Of Nc Chapel Hill Cogen Facility is a natural gas power plant in North Carolina with a nameplate capacity of 32.0 MW. It generates roughly 23.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,262 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 8% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (32.0 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 | Univ Of Nc Chapel Hill Cogen Facility |
|---|---|
| Operator | University Of North Carolina |
| City | Chapel Hill |
| County | Orange County |
| State | North Carolina |
| ZIP | 27599 |
| Coordinates | 35.90690, -79.06170 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TG3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 28.0 MW | Operating | 1991 |
| TG4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 24.0 MW | Cancelled | — |
| ES001 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Standby | 2007 |
| ES002 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Standby | 2007 |
| NOₓ | 20 metric tons |
|---|
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 | Duke Energy Carolinas |
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.