Desert Basin

Gas power plant in Arizona, United States of America. Approximate location 32.9042, -111.7889.

GasArizonaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Desert Basin is a 646 MW gas power station in Arizona, United States of America. It is operated by Salt River Project. Based on reported annual generation of 2,220 GWh, it can supply roughly 634,314 homes. It ranks #559 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. Its measured emissions of 1,240,576 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 289,179 cars driven for a year. 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).

646MW installed capacity
2,220GWh reported / yr
634,314homes powered
1,240,576t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
2001commissioned (~25 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055129.

1,240,576 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

289,179passenger cars driven for a year
161,786homes' yearly energy use
20,676,267tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 889 GWh20132014: 1,465 GWh20142015: 1,954 GWh20152016: 1,155 GWh20162017: 1,033 GWh20172018: 2,336 GWh20182019: 2,220 GWh20192k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Salt River Project. 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 hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 32.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

21.3°Cannual mean temp
713heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,951cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
452 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 11 °CJF: 13 °CFM: 16 °CMA: 20 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 30 °CJJ: 32 °CJA: 32 °CAS: 29 °CSO: 22 °CON: 16 °CND: 11 °CD32 °C

Heating degree-days here run 71% 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: 23/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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 ~4% 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 #313 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 32.9042, -111.7889 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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