27th largest plant in Wisconsin · 1752nd nationally
West Campus Cogeneration Facility is a natural gas power plant in Wisconsin with a nameplate capacity of 169 MW. It generates roughly 353.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 33,616 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 24% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 951 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 (169 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 | West Campus Cogeneration Facility |
|---|---|
| Operator | Madison Gas & Electric Co |
| City | Madison |
| County | Dane County |
| State | Wisconsin |
| ZIP | 53701 |
| Coordinates | 43.07507, -89.42510 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 61.3 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| CT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 54.0 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Madison Gas & Electric Co | Madison, WI | 7500.0% |
| University Of Wisconsin | Madison, WI | 2500.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 167.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 14 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 951 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.