12th largest plant in Pennsylvania · 163rd nationally
York Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Pennsylvania with a nameplate capacity of 1,449 MW. It generates roughly 8.6M MWh per year — enough to power about 822,038 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 68% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 903 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 (1,449 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 | York Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Calpine Mid-Merit Llc |
| City | Delta |
| County | York County |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| ZIP | 17314 |
| Coordinates | 39.73750, -76.30667 |
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 | 420 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| CTG5 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 235 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| CTG6 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 235 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| STG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 200 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 120 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 120 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 120 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CTG7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 120 MW | Cancelled | — |
| CO₂ | 3.9M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 20 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 167 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 903 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 | RFC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Pjm Interconnection, Llc |
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.