139th largest plant in Iowa · 5036th nationally
West Liberty is a oil power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 16.5 MW. It generates roughly 39 MWh per year — enough to power about 3 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1642 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | West Liberty |
|---|---|
| Operator | City Of West Liberty - (Ia) |
| City | West Liberty |
| County | Muscatine County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 52776 |
| Coordinates | 41.56913, -91.26405 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 5.5 MW | Standby | 2004 |
| 6 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 5.5 MW | Standby | 2004 |
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 3.0 MW | Standby | 1982 |
| 2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.5 MW | Standby | 1974 |
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 0.8 MW | Retired | 1948 |
| CO₂ | 32 metric tons |
|---|---|
| CO₂ Rate | 1642 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.. |
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.