160th largest plant in Pennsylvania · 5227th nationally
West Campus Steam Plant is a natural gas power plant in Pennsylvania with a nameplate capacity of 14.0 MW. It generates roughly 45.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,305 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 37% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 618 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (14.0 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 Steam Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Penn State University |
| City | University Park |
| County | Centre County |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| ZIP | 16802 |
| Coordinates | 40.79278, -77.86472 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 6.1 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| WC 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1949 |
| WC 4 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.9 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| WC6 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.8 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| WC 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 2.5 MW | Retired | 1938 |
| WC 5 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 2.2 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| CO₂ | 14.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 27 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 618 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.