17th largest plant in Illinois · 477th nationally
University Park North is a natural gas power plant in Illinois with a nameplate capacity of 726 MW. It generates roughly 208.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 19,824 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 3% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1114 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | University Park North |
|---|---|
| Operator | Lsp University Park Llc |
| City | University Park |
| County | Will County |
| State | Illinois |
| ZIP | 60484 |
| Coordinates | 41.44250, -87.75140 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 10 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 11 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 12 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 9 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| CO₂ | 116.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 18 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1114 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 | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
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.