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Independence Steam Electric Station

Coal power plant in Arkansas, United States of America. Approximate location 35.6784, -91.4088.

CoalArkansasUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Independence Steam Electric Station is a 1,800 MW coal power station in Arkansas, United States of America. It is operated by Entergy Arkansas LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 5,656 GWh, it can supply roughly 1,615,857 homes. It ranks #100 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1984, it is around 42 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 5,566,309 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 1,297,508 cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

1,800MW installed capacity
5,656GWh reported / yr
1,615,857homes powered
5,566,309t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1984commissioned (~42 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006641.

5,566,309 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1,297,508passenger cars driven for a year
725,914homes' yearly energy use
92,771,817tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 10,390 GWh20132014: 10,990 GWh20142015: 5,184 GWh20152016: 7,704 GWh20162017: 7,614 GWh20172018: 9,683 GWh20182019: 5,656 GWh201911k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Entergy Arkansas LLC. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 35.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

15.8°Cannual mean temp
1,785heating degree-days (base 18°C)
998cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
68 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 6 °CFM: 11 °CMA: 16 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 16 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD27 °C

Heating degree-days here run 27% 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: 39/100 — 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.

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 #37 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 35.6784, -91.4088 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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