Gadsden

Gas power plant in Alabama, United States of America. Approximate location 34.0128, -85.9708.

GasAlabamaUnited States of America

Gadsden is a 138 MW gas power station in Alabama, United States of America. It is operated by Alabama Power Co. Based on reported annual generation of 170 GWh, it can supply roughly 48,571 homes. It ranks #1620 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1949, it is around 77 years old — an older, legacy facility. 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).

138MW installed capacity
170GWh reported / yr
48,571homes powered
1949commissioned (~77 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0000007.

~68,000 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

15,851passenger cars driven for a year
8,868homes' yearly energy use
1,133,333tree 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: 182 GWh20132014: 217 GWh20142015: 215 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 189 GWh20182019: 170 GWh2019217 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Alabama Power 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 34.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.0°Cannual mean temp
1,590heating degree-days (base 18°C)
864cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
193 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 5 °CJF: 7 °CFM: 12 °CMA: 16 °CAM: 20 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 16 °CON: 11 °CND: 7 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 35% 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: 36/100 — 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 ~1% 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 #786 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 34.0128, -85.9708 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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