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Big Sandy Peaker Plant

Gas power plant in West Virginia, United States of America. Approximate location 38.3441, -82.5938.

GasWest VirginiaUnited States of America

Big Sandy Peaker Plant is a 353 MW gas power station in West Virginia, United States of America. It is operated by Middle River Power II LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 246 GWh, it can supply roughly 70,200 homes. It ranks #870 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

353MW installed capacity
246GWh reported / yr
70,200homes powered
2001commissioned (~25 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055284.

~98,280 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

22,909passenger cars driven for a year
12,817homes' yearly energy use
1,638,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical gas emission factor (~400 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: 56 GWh20132014: 75 GWh20142015: 154 GWh20152016: 114 GWh20162017: 108 GWh20172018: 160 GWh20182019: 246 GWh2019246 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Middle River Power II LLC. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.4°Cannual mean temp
2,519heating degree-days (base 18°C)
480cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
235 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 7 °CMA: 12 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 13 °CON: 8 °CND: 2 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 2% above 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: 51/100 — this site sits in the mid 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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 #530 largest gas power plant of 1818 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1818 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 546,436 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 38.3441, -82.5938 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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