Houma

Gas power plant in Louisiana, United States of America. Approximate location 29.5806, -90.7225.

GasLouisianaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ measured

Houma is a 79 MW gas power plant in Louisiana, United States of America. It is operated by Terrebonne Parish Consol Gov't. Based on reported annual generation of 62 GWh, it can supply roughly 18k homes. It ranks #3157 of 10,938 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 17,219 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 4.0k 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).

79Source-backed capacity
62GWh reported / yr
17,657homes powered
17,219t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0001439.

Data status

Known data

FacilityHouma WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Louisiana WRI
Coordinates29.5806, -90.7225 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity79 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerTerrebonne Parish Consol Gov't WRI
Commissioned1973 WRI
GWh reported / yr62 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions17,219 t CO₂/yr measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#3157 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1231 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.65× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent17,657 calculated from reported generation
Climate20.7°C · HDD 471 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 49/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 79 MW, Houma is below the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). 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.

17,219 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

4.0kpassenger cars driven for a year
2.2khomes' yearly energy use
287ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 9 GWh20132014: 14 GWh20142015: 43 GWh20152016: 41 GWh20162017: 33 GWh20172018: 34 GWh20182019: 62 GWh201962 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Terrebonne Parish Consol Gov't.

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 29.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

20.7°Cannual mean temp
471heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,469cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
2 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 12 °CJF: 14 °CFM: 17 °CMA: 20 °CAM: 24 °CMJ: 27 °CJJ: 28 °CJA: 28 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 22 °CON: 17 °CND: 14 °CD28 °C

Heating degree-days here run 81% 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: 20/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~4% 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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
49/100environmental-severity index
15.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
36 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 #1231 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 29.5806, -90.7225 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Houma?

Houma is a 79 MW source-record gas power plant in Louisiana, United States of America, commissioned in 1973.

How much electricity does Houma generate?

Houma generates about 62 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Houma power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 17,657 homes.

Who operates Houma?

Houma is operated by Terrebonne Parish Consol Gov't.

How much CO₂ does Houma emit?

Houma has measured emissions of about 17,219 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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