Cooper

Coal power plant in Kentucky, United States of America. Approximate location 36.9981, -84.5919.

CoalKentuckyUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Cooper is a 344 MW coal power station in Kentucky, United States of America. It is operated by East Kentucky Power Coop Inc. Based on reported annual generation of 169 GWh, it can supply roughly 48,171 homes. It ranks #889 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1967, it is around 59 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its measured emissions of 484,225 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 112,873 cars driven for a year. 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).

344MW installed capacity
169GWh reported / yr
48,171homes powered
484,225t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1967commissioned (~59 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0001384.

484,225 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

112,873passenger cars driven for a year
63,149homes' yearly energy use
8,070,417tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 997 GWh20132014: 1,029 GWh20142015: 524 GWh20152016: 645 GWh20162017: 447 GWh20172018: 562 GWh20182019: 169 GWh20191k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by East Kentucky Power Coop Inc. 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 37.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

13.4°Cannual mean temp
2,228heating degree-days (base 18°C)
551cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
302 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 2 °CJF: 3 °CFM: 8 °CMA: 13 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 22 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 14 °CON: 9 °CND: 4 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 9% 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: 47/100 — 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 #190 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 36.9981, -84.5919 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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