28th largest plant in New Mexico · 1826th nationally
Valencia Energy Facility is a natural gas power plant in New Mexico with a nameplate capacity of 160 MW. It generates roughly 242.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 23,112 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 17% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1325 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Valencia Energy Facility |
|---|---|
| Operator | Valencia Power Llc |
| City | Belen |
| County | Valencia County |
| State | New Mexico |
| ZIP | 87002 |
| Coordinates | 34.61155, -106.73223 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 160 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 160 MW | Indef Postponed | — |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 84.5 MW | Indef Postponed | — |
| CTG4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 84.2 MW | Indef Postponed | — |
| CTG5 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 84.2 MW | Indef Postponed | — |
| CTG6 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 84.2 MW | Indef Postponed | — |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Black Hills Power, Inc. | Rapid City, SD | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 160.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 51 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1325 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 | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Public Service Company Of New Mexico |
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.