170th largest plant in Iowa · 6341st nationally
University Of Northern Iowa is a natural gas power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 7.5 MW. It generates roughly 22.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,162 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 35% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 690 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 (7.5 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 | University Of Northern Iowa |
|---|---|
| Operator | University Of Northern Iowa |
| City | Cedar Falls |
| County | Black Hawk County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50614 |
| Coordinates | 42.51361, -92.45912 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 7.5 MW | Operating | 1982 |
| CO₂ | 7.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 9 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 690 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, 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.