Big Brown Steam Electric Station — United States of America
Coal power plant in Texas, United States of America. Approximate location 31.820589, -96.055167.
CoalTexasUnited States of Americasupercritical
Big Brown Steam Electric Station is a 1,186.8 MW coal power station in Texas, United States of America. It is operated by Luminant Generation Company LLC [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.5 million homes (estimated). It ranks #485 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1971, it is around 55 years old — an older, legacy facility. 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).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_bigbrownsteam_unite.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT
In context: how this plant compares
At 1,186.8 MW, Big Brown Steam Electric Station is well above the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Technically it is described as supercritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Key facts
- Share of United States of America coal capacity
- 0.2% of 621,194 MW across 802 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 319 of 745 dated coal plants in United States of America are older
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest coal plants in United States of America
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Luminant Generation Company LLC [100%].
Climate zone & how it works
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 31.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
Site climate & environmental severity
This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
How it compares & nearby plants
The #204 largest coal power plant of 802 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 802 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 621,194 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Freestone Energy Center · Gas · 1,036 MW · Texas
- Trinidad (TX) · Gas · 243.3 MW · Texas
- Halyard Henderson energy center · Gas · 464 MW · Texas
- Limestone Generating Station · Coal · 2,595 MW · Texas
- Limestone · Coal · 1,849.8 MW · Texas
- NRG Jewett Energy Center · Gas · 2,356 MW · Texas
Location
Coordinates 31.820589, -96.055167 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Big Brown Steam Electric Station?
Big Brown Steam Electric Station is a 1,186.8 MW coal power plant in Texas, United States of America, commissioned in 1971.
Who operates Big Brown Steam Electric Station?
Big Brown Steam Electric Station is operated by Luminant Generation Company LLC [100%].