1st largest plant in Florida · 2nd nationally
West County Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Florida with a nameplate capacity of 4,263 MW. It generates roughly 20.0M MWh per year — enough to power about 1,901,499 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 53% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 788 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 (4,263 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 County Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Florida Power & Light Co |
| City | Loxahatchee |
| County | Palm Beach County |
| State | Florida |
| ZIP | 33470 |
| Coordinates | 26.69860, -80.37470 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 527 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 2ST | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 527 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 3ST | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 527 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| 1A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 1B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 1C | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 2A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 2B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 2C | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 3A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| 3B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| 3C | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 298 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CO₂ | 7.9M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 40 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 515 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 788 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 | Florida Power & Light Company |
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.