Crawford Generating Station — United States of America
Coal power plant in Illinois, United States of America. Approximate location 41.828847, -87.723178.
CoalIllinoisUnited States of Americasubcritical
Crawford Generating Station is a 597 MW coal power station in Illinois, United States of America. It is operated by Midwest Generation EME LLC [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 747k homes (estimated). It ranks #1073 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1958, it is around 68 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_crawford_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 597 MW, Crawford Generating Station is around the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. 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
- less than 0.1% of 621,194 MW across 802 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 135 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 Midwest Generation EME 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 hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 41.8°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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with thermal cycling 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 #386 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
- Chicago West Side Energy Center · Gas · 3.5 MW · Illinois
- Fisk Generating Station · Coal · 374.1 MW · Illinois
- Fisk Street · Oil · 288.8 MW · Illinois
- University of Illinois Cogen Facility · Gas · 59.9 MW · Illinois
- ITT Cogen Facility · Gas · 7.4 MW · Illinois
- Presence Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital · Oil · 4.2 MW · Illinois
Location
Coordinates 41.828847, -87.723178 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Crawford Generating Station?
Crawford Generating Station is a 597 MW coal power plant in Illinois, United States of America, commissioned in 1958.
Who operates Crawford Generating Station?
Crawford Generating Station is operated by Midwest Generation EME LLC [100%].