68th largest plant in Tennessee · 6987th nationally
University Of Tennessee Steam Plant is a natural gas power plant in Tennessee with a nameplate capacity of 5.0 MW. It generates roughly 34.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,258 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 78% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 641 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | University Of Tennessee Steam Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | University Of Tennessee |
| City | Knoxville |
| County | Knox County |
| State | Tennessee |
| ZIP | 37996 |
| Coordinates | 35.94921, -83.92606 |
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 Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 5.0 MW | Operating | 1996 |
| CO₂ | 11.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 30 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 641 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 | Tennessee Valley Authority |
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.