Dan River

Gas power plant in North Carolina, United States of America. Approximate location 36.4862, -79.7208.

GasNorth CarolinaUnited States of America

Dan River is a 698 MW gas power station in North Carolina, United States of America. It is operated by Duke Energy Carolinas LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 4,395 GWh, it can supply roughly 1,255,657 homes. It ranks #501 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2013, it is around 13 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).

698MW installed capacity
4,395GWh reported / yr
1,255,657homes powered
2013commissioned (~13 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0002723.

~1,757,920 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

409,772passenger cars driven for a year
229,254homes' yearly energy use
29,298,667tree 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: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 4,395 GWh20194k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Duke Energy Carolinas 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 36.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

14.2°Cannual mean temp
2,009heating degree-days (base 18°C)
653cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
203 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 5 °CFM: 9 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 14 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 18% 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: 43/100 — 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 #264 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 36.4862, -79.7208 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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