Big Bend

Coal power plant in Florida, United States of America. Approximate location 27.7944, -82.4036.

CoalFloridaUnited States of America

Big Bend is a 1,904 MW coal power station in Florida, United States of America. It is operated by Tampa Electric Co. Based on reported annual generation of 3,890 GWh, it can supply roughly 1,111,400 homes. It ranks #84 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1977, it is around 49 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

1,904MW installed capacity
3,890GWh reported / yr
1,111,400homes powered
1977commissioned (~49 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0000645.

~3,889,900 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

906,737passenger cars driven for a year
507,290homes' yearly energy use
64,831,667tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2013: 9,546 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 3,890 GWh201910k GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Tampa Electric Co. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 27.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.4°Cannual mean temp
131heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,760cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
31 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 16 °CJF: 17 °CFM: 19 °CMA: 22 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 27 °CJJ: 28 °CJA: 28 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 24 °CON: 20 °CND: 17 °CD28 °C

Heating degree-days here run 95% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 16/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #31 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 27.7944, -82.4036 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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