Biomass power plant in Maryland, United States of America. Approximate location 38.8206, -77.0183.
BiomassMarylandUnited States of AmericaCO₂ modelled
DC Water CHP is a 14 MW biomass power plant in Maryland, United States of America. It is operated by DC Water. Based on reported annual generation of 55 GWh, it can supply roughly 16k homes. It ranks #5252 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 31,907 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 7.4k cars driven for a year. In context, biomass supplies about 1.0% 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 USA0059012.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.
capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 14 MW, DC Water CHP is below the median biomass plant in United States of America (18 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:
Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by DC Water.
This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 5% 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: 48/100 — this site sits in the mid 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.
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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
The #100 largest biomass power plant of 184 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 184 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 6,324 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 38.8206, -77.0183 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
DC Water CHP is a 14 MW source-record biomass power plant in Maryland, United States of America, commissioned in 2015.
DC Water CHP generates about 55 GWh of electricity per year.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 15,742 homes.
DC Water CHP is operated by DC Water.
DC Water CHP has modelled emissions of about 31,907 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).
