Erickson Station — United States of America

Coal power plant in Michigan, United States of America. Approximate location 42.6922, -84.6572.

CoalMichiganUnited States of AmericaCO₂ measured

Erickson Station is a 154.7 MW coal power station in Michigan, United States of America. It is operated by Lansing Board of Water and Light. Based on reported annual generation of 692 GWh, it can supply roughly 198k homes. It ranks #2235 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its annual emissions of 396,358 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 92k cars driven for a year. 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).

154.7MW installed capacity
692GWh reported / yr
197,571homes powered
396,358t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0001832.

Data status

Known data

FacilityErickson Station WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Michigan WRI
Coordinates42.6922, -84.6572 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity154.7 MW Wikidata P2109; installed/nameplate capacity
Verification noteQuality label backfilled from existing source-backed capacity provenance on 2026-07-05; capacity value was not changed. source-verified
OwnerLansing Board of Water and Light WRI
Commissioned1973 WRI
GWh reported / yr692 GWh·a⁻¹ WRI
CO₂ emissions396,358 t CO₂·a⁻¹ measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#2235 / 10884 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#618 / 802 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.28× · 558 MW · n=802 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent197,571 calculated from reported generation
Climate8.4°C · HDD 3,686 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 34/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: Wikidata P2109; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 154.7 MW, Erickson Station is below the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). 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.

396,358 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

2.2krailcars of coal burned
92kgasoline cars driven for a year
396kacres of US forest absorbing CO₂ for a year
0.05%of the CO₂ from all United States of America power plants with an emissions figure in PowerAtlas

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

Key facts

Load factor
51%, from 692 GWh of reported generation; the median for 244 coal plants in United States of America that report generation is 41%
Generation trend
977 GWh in 2013 and 692 GWh in 2019 (−29%)
Highest and lowest year
2017: 984 GWh; 2019: 692 GWh
Share of United States of America coal capacity
less than 0.1% of 621,194 MW across 802 plants in this dataset
Age among peers
346 of 745 dated coal plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

2013: 977 GWh20132014: 936 GWh20142015: 870 GWh20152016: 793 GWh20162017: 984 GWh20172018: 728 GWh20182019: 692 GWh2019984 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Lansing Board of Water and Light.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.4°Cannual mean temp
3,686heating degree-days (base 18°C)
222cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
275 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -6 °CJF: -4 °CFM: 1 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 10 °CON: 4 °CND: -3 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 50% 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: 80/100 — 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

This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
27.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
126 kmdistance to coast

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 #618 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 42.6922, -84.6572 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Erickson Station?

Erickson Station is a 154.7 MW coal power plant in Michigan, United States of America, commissioned in 1973.

How much electricity does Erickson Station generate?

Erickson Station generates about 692 GWh of electricity per year.

Who operates Erickson Station?

Erickson Station is operated by Lansing Board of Water and Light.

How much CO₂ does Erickson Station emit?

Erickson Station has measured emissions of about 396,358 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.