E W Brown

Gas power plant in Kentucky, United States of America. Approximate location 37.7883, -84.7126.

GasKentuckyUnited States of AmericaCCGT · HRSGGE VernovaCO₂ measured

E W Brown is a 1,458 MW gas power station in Kentucky, United States of America. It is operated by Kentucky Utilities Co. Based on reported annual generation of 1,430 GWh, it can supply roughly 409k homes. It ranks #391 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1989, it is around 37 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 1,062,999 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 248k 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).

1,458Source-backed capacity
1HRSG unit(s)
1,430GWh reported / yr
408,571homes powered
1,062,999t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1989commissioned (~37 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0001355.

Data status

Known data

FacilityE W Brown WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Kentucky WRI
Coordinates37.7883, -84.7126 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity1,458 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerKentucky Utilities Co WRI
Commissioned1989 WRI
TechnologyCCGT · GE Vernova · HRSG WRI
GWh reported / yr1,430 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions1,062,999 t CO₂/yr measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#391 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#95 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers12.03× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent408,571 calculated from reported generation
Climate12.8°C · HDD 2,408 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 34/100 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 981 MW for E.W. Brown Generating Station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. 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: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,458 MW, E W Brown is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG); GE Vernova. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

1,062,999 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

248kpassenger cars driven for a year
139khomes' yearly energy use
18 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per US EPA GHGRP (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Reported generation trend

2013: 2,961 GWh20132014: 3,143 GWh20142015: 2,830 GWh20152016: 2,266 GWh20162017: 1,657 GWh20172018: 2,544 GWh20182019: 1,430 GWh20193k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Kentucky Utilities Co. 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 37.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.8°Cannual mean temp
2,408heating degree-days (base 18°C)
547cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
258 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 7 °CMA: 12 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 22 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 14 °CON: 8 °CND: 3 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 2% 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: 49/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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.

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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
24.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
397 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 #95 largest gas power plant of 2165 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 2165 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 789,950 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 37.7883, -84.7126 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is E W Brown?

E W Brown is a 1,458 MW source-record gas power plant in Kentucky, United States of America, commissioned in 1989.

How much electricity does E W Brown generate?

E W Brown generates about 1,430 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can E W Brown power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 408,571 homes.

Who operates E W Brown?

E W Brown is operated by Kentucky Utilities Co.

How much CO₂ does E W Brown emit?

E W Brown has measured emissions of about 1,062,999 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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