71st largest plant in Montana · 11698th nationally
Western Sugar Cooperative - Billings is a coal power plant in Montana with a nameplate capacity of 1.5 MW. It generates roughly 5.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 548 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 44% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 1253 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (1.5 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 | Western Sugar Cooperative - Billings |
|---|---|
| Operator | Western Sugar Cooperative - Billings |
| City | Billings |
| County | Yellowstone County |
| State | Montana |
| ZIP | 59101 |
| Coordinates | 45.76535, -108.49923 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 1.5 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CO₂ | 3.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 4 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1253 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 | Northwestern Energy (Nwmt) |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.