8th largest plant in Arizona · 235th nationally
West Phoenix is a natural gas power plant in Arizona with a nameplate capacity of 1,207 MW. It generates roughly 3.1M MWh per year — enough to power about 290,798 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 29% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 635 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 (1,207 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 Phoenix |
|---|---|
| Operator | Arizona Public Service Co |
| City | Phoenix |
| County | Maricopa County |
| State | Arizona |
| ZIP | 85043 |
| Coordinates | 33.44170, -112.15830 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C5-3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 201 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| C5-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 185 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| C5-2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 185 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| 1B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 132 MW | Operating | 1976 |
| 2B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 132 MW | Operating | 1976 |
| 3B | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 132 MW | Operating | 1976 |
| C4-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 91.0 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 69.0 MW | Retired | 1950 |
| GT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 53.1 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| GT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 53.1 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| C4-2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 44.6 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 34.5 MW | Retired | 1948 |
| 5 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 16.0 MW | Retired | 1949 |
| CO₂ | 969.4k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 5 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 133 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 635 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 | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Arizona Public Service 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.