7th largest plant in Wisconsin · 476th nationally
West Riverside Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Wisconsin with a nameplate capacity of 728 MW. It generates roughly 4.3M MWh per year — enough to power about 405,650 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 67% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 776 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 (728 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 Riverside Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Wisconsin Power & Light Co |
| City | Beloit |
| County | Rock County |
| State | Wisconsin |
| ZIP | 53511 |
| Coordinates | 42.58205, -89.04121 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 257 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 233 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| CTG4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 233 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| PV1 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 4.4 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Madison, WI | 5660.0% |
| Wisconsin Electric Power Co | Milwaukee, WI | 2750.0% |
| Madison Gas & Electric Co | Madison, WI | 690.0% |
| Adams-Columbia Electric Coop | Friendship, WI | 450.0% |
| Rock Energy Cooperative | Janesville, WI | 370.0% |
| Central Wisconsin Elec Coop | Rosholt, WI | 80.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 1.7M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 8 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 4.4k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 776 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.