Dry Fork Station

Coal power plant in Wyoming, United States of America. Approximate location 44.3889, -105.4608.

CoalWyomingUnited States of America

Dry Fork Station is a 484 MW coal power station in Wyoming, United States of America. It is operated by Basin Electric Power Coop. Based on reported annual generation of 2,566 GWh, it can supply roughly 733,000 homes. It ranks #747 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2011, it is around 15 years old — relatively modern. 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).

484MW installed capacity
2,566GWh reported / yr
733,000homes powered
2011commissioned (~15 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0056609.

~2,565,500 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

598,019passenger cars driven for a year
334,572homes' yearly energy use
42,758,333tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 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: 3,067 GWh20132014: 3,277 GWh20142015: 3,161 GWh20152016: 2,831 GWh20162017: 3,230 GWh20172018: 2,980 GWh20182019: 2,566 GWh20193k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Basin Electric Power Coop. 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 44.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.9°Cannual mean temp
4,185heating degree-days (base 18°C)
167cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,396 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -6 °CJF: -3 °CFM: 1 °CMA: 6 °CAM: 11 °CMJ: 17 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 8 °CON: 0 °CND: -5 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 70% 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: 86/100 — this site sits in the top 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.

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 #168 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 44.3889, -105.4608 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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