Home / North America / United States of America / Brownsville Peaking Power

Brownsville Peaking Power

Gas power plant in Tennessee, United States of America. Approximate location 35.5438, -89.198.

GasTennesseeUnited States of AmericaOCGTCO₂ measured

Brownsville Peaking Power is a 460 MW gas power station in Tennessee, United States of America. It is operated by Tennessee Valley Authority. Based on reported annual generation of 489 GWh, it can supply roughly 140k homes. It ranks #1341 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1999, it is around 27 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 105,740 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 25k cars driven for a year. 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).

460Source-backed capacity
489GWh reported / yr
139,800homes powered
105,740t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1999commissioned (~27 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055081.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBrownsville Peaking Power WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Tennessee WRI
Coordinates35.5438, -89.198 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity460 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerTennessee Valley Authority WRI
Commissioned1999 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr489 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions105,740 t CO₂/yr measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1341 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#627 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers3.80× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent139,800 calculated from reported generation
Climate15.3°C · HDD 1,823 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 36/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000402314); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 460 MW, Brownsville Peaking Power is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

105,740 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

25kpassenger cars driven for a year
14khomes' yearly energy use
1.8 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per US EPA GHGRP (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Reported generation trend

2013: 78 GWh20132014: 152 GWh20142015: 244 GWh20152016: 499 GWh20162017: 316 GWh20172018: 579 GWh20182019: 489 GWh2019579 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Tennessee Valley Authority. 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 35.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

15.3°Cannual mean temp
1,823heating degree-days (base 18°C)
861cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
117 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 6 °CFM: 10 °CMA: 15 °CAM: 20 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 16 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 26% 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: 40/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
36/100environmental-severity index
23.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
590 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

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 #627 largest gas power plant of 2165 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 2165 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 789,950 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 35.5438, -89.198 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Brownsville Peaking Power?

Brownsville Peaking Power is a 460 MW source-record gas power plant in Tennessee, United States of America, commissioned in 1999.

How much electricity does Brownsville Peaking Power generate?

Brownsville Peaking Power generates about 489 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Brownsville Peaking Power power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 139,800 homes.

Who operates Brownsville Peaking Power?

Brownsville Peaking Power is operated by Tennessee Valley Authority.

How much CO₂ does Brownsville Peaking Power emit?

Brownsville Peaking Power has measured emissions of about 105,740 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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