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Front Range Power Plant

Gas power plant in Colorado, United States of America. Approximate location 38.6281, -104.7069.

GasColoradoUnited States of America

Front Range Power Plant is a 554 MW gas power station in Colorado, United States of America. It is operated by City of Colorado Springs - (CO). Based on reported annual generation of 2,654 GWh, it can supply roughly 758,228 homes. It ranks #675 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2003, it is around 23 years old — relatively modern. 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).

554MW installed capacity
2,654GWh reported / yr
758,228homes powered
2003commissioned (~23 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055283.

~1,061,520 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

247,441passenger cars driven for a year
138,435homes' yearly energy use
17,692,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical gas emission factor (~400 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: 1,600 GWh20132014: 1,803 GWh20142015: 1,747 GWh20152016: 2,277 GWh20162017: 1,669 GWh20172018: 2,653 GWh20182019: 2,654 GWh20193k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by City of Colorado Springs - (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 cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

10.4°Cannual mean temp
3,082heating degree-days (base 18°C)
344cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,640 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -1 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 5 °CMA: 9 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 23 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 17 °CSO: 11 °CON: 4 °CND: -1 °CD23 °C

Heating degree-days here run 25% 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: 65/100 — this site sits in the mid 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 ~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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #394 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 38.6281, -104.7069 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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