Home / North America / United States of America / Great Bend - Sunflower

Great Bend - Sunflower

Gas power plant in Kansas, United States of America. Approximate location 38.41, -98.8689.

GasKansasUnited States of AmericaSteamCO₂ modelled

Great Bend - Sunflower is a 82 MW gas power plant in Kansas, United States of America. It is operated by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. Based on reported annual generation of 0 GWh, it can supply roughly 85 homes. It ranks #3083 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1963, it is around 63 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its modelled annual emissions are 29,560 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 6.9k 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).

82Source-backed capacity
0GWh reported / yr
85homes powered
29,560t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1963commissioned (~63 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0001235.

Data status

Known data

FacilityGreat Bend - Sunflower WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Kansas WRI
Coordinates38.41, -98.8689 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity82 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerSunflower Electric Power Corp WRI
Commissioned1963 WRI
TechnologySteam WRI
GWh reported / yr0 GWh/yr WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions29,560 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#3083 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1223 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.67× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent85 calculated from reported generation
Climate12.9°C · HDD 2,589 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 36/100 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.

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: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000401617); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 82 MW, Great Bend - Sunflower is below the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Technically it is described as Steam. 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.

~29,560 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

6.9kpassenger cars driven for a year
3.9khomes' yearly energy use
493ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 105 GWh20132014: 5 GWh20142015: -1 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: -1 GWh20182019: 0 GWh2019105 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Sunflower Electric Power Corp.

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 38.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.9°Cannual mean temp
2,589heating degree-days (base 18°C)
754cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
579 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -1 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 7 °CMA: 12 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 14 °CON: 6 °CND: 1 °CD27 °C

Heating degree-days here run 5% 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: 52/100 — 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)
36/100environmental-severity index
27.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
1052 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 #1223 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 38.41, -98.8689 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Great Bend - Sunflower?

Great Bend - Sunflower is a 82 MW source-record gas power plant in Kansas, United States of America, commissioned in 1963.

How much electricity does Great Bend - Sunflower generate?

Great Bend - Sunflower generates about 0 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Great Bend - Sunflower power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 85 homes.

Who operates Great Bend - Sunflower?

Great Bend - Sunflower is operated by Sunflower Electric Power Corp.

How much CO₂ does Great Bend - Sunflower emit?

Great Bend - Sunflower has modelled emissions of about 29,560 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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