Dave Johnston

Coal power plant in Wyoming, United States of America. Approximate location 42.8378, -105.7769.

CoalWyomingUnited States of AmericaSteamAnnounced

Dave Johnston is a 922 MW coal power station in Wyoming, United States of America. It is operated by PacifiCorp. Based on reported annual generation of 4,686 GWh, it can supply roughly 1.3 million homes. It ranks #720 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. 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).

922Source-backed capacity
4,686GWh reported / yr
1,338,971homes powered
1966Announced year

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0004158.

Data status

Known data

FacilityDave Johnston WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Wyoming WRI
Coordinates42.8378, -105.7769 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity922 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPacifiCorp WRI
Commissioned1966 WRI
TechnologySteam WRI
GWh reported / yr4,686 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions4,686,400 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#720 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#265 of 802 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.65× · 558 MW median · 802 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,338,971 calculated from reported generation
Climate7.0°C · HDD 4,094 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 817 MW for Dave Johnston Power Plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: A2_GENERAL_REVIEW - recommended action: manual_source_check - confidence: medium_low. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 L100000104281); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 922 MW, Dave Johnston is well above the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Technically it is described as Steam. Its current lifecycle status is “announced” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.

Reported generation trend

2013: 5,295 GWh20132014: 5,183 GWh20142015: 5,141 GWh20152016: 5,088 GWh20162017: 4,520 GWh20172018: 4,800 GWh20182019: 4,686 GWh20195k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by PacifiCorp. 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 cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

7.0°Cannual mean temp
4,094heating degree-days (base 18°C)
109cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,771 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -4 °CJF: -3 °CFM: 1 °CMA: 5 °CAM: 10 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 19 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 8 °CON: 1 °CND: -3 °CD20 °C

Heating degree-days here run 67% 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: 85/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
36/100environmental-severity index
24.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
1178 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 #265 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

Location

Coordinates 42.8378, -105.7769 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Dave Johnston?

Dave Johnston is a 922 MW source-record coal power plant in Wyoming, United States of America, planned/announced for 1966.

How much electricity does Dave Johnston generate?

Dave Johnston generates about 4,686 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Dave Johnston power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,338,971 homes.

Who operates Dave Johnston?

Dave Johnston is operated by PacifiCorp.

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