10th largest plant in South Carolina · 336th nationally
W S Lee is a natural gas power plant in South Carolina with a nameplate capacity of 955 MW. It generates roughly 6.0M MWh per year — enough to power about 567,731 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 71% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 864 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (955 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 | W S Lee |
|---|---|
| Operator | Duke Energy Carolinas, Llc |
| City | Williamston |
| County | Anderson County |
| State | South Carolina |
| ZIP | 29697 |
| Coordinates | 34.60220, -82.43500 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST10 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 362 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| CT11 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 242 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| CT12 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 242 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 163 MW | Retired | 1958 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 90.0 MW | Retired | 1951 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 90.0 MW | Retired | 1951 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2007 |
| 8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2007 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.1 MW | Retired | 1978 |
| 5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.1 MW | Retired | 1968 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.1 MW | Retired | 1968 |
| CO₂ | 2.6M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 13 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 206 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 864 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 | 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.