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Higgins Generating Station

Gas power plant in Nevada, United States of America. Approximate location 35.6139, -115.3561.

GasNevadaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Higgins Generating Station is a 688 MW gas power station in Nevada, United States of America. It is operated by Nevada Power Co. Based on reported annual generation of 2,240 GWh, it can supply roughly 640,085 homes. It ranks #518 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2004, it is around 22 years old — relatively modern. Its measured emissions of 871,131 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 203,061 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).

688MW installed capacity
2,240GWh reported / yr
640,085homes powered
871,131t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
2004commissioned (~22 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055687.

871,131 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

203,061passenger cars driven for a year
113,606homes' yearly energy use
14,518,850tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 1,998 GWh20132014: 2,018 GWh20142015: 2,605 GWh20152016: 3,513 GWh20162017: 2,590 GWh20172018: 2,180 GWh20182019: 2,240 GWh20194k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Nevada 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 cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 35.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

15.8°Cannual mean temp
1,692heating degree-days (base 18°C)
907cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,315 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 5 °CJF: 8 °CFM: 10 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 28 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 17 °CON: 10 °CND: 6 °CD28 °C

Heating degree-days here run 31% 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: 38/100 — 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 #280 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 35.6139, -115.3561 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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