Cardinal

Coal power plant in Ohio, United States of America. Approximate location 40.2522, -80.6486.

CoalOhioUnited States of America

Cardinal is a 1,880 MW coal power station in Ohio, United States of America. It is operated by Cardinal Operating Company. Based on reported annual generation of 9,640 GWh, it can supply roughly 2,754,342 homes. It ranks #90 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1970, it is around 56 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).

1,880MW installed capacity
9,640GWh reported / yr
2,754,342homes powered
1970commissioned (~56 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0002828.

~9,640,200 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

2,247,133passenger cars driven for a year
1,257,199homes' yearly energy use
160,670,000tree 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: 11,004 GWh20132014: 10,701 GWh20142015: 8,836 GWh20152016: 9,181 GWh20162017: 10,499 GWh20172018: 10,038 GWh20182019: 9,640 GWh201911k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Cardinal Operating 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 40.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

10.5°Cannual mean temp
3,010heating degree-days (base 18°C)
301cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
311 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: -1 °CFM: 4 °CMA: 10 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 18 °CSO: 12 °CON: 6 °CND: 0 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 22% 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: 63/100 — 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.

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 #35 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 40.2522, -80.6486 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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