Home / North America / United States of America / IRC Generator Facility

IRC Generator Facility

Oil power plant in Arizona, United States of America. Approximate location 36.9708, -112.5264.

OilArizonaUnited States of America

IRC Generator Facility is a 3 MW oil power plant in Arizona, United States of America. It is operated by Garkane Energy Coop Inc. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 2.3k homes (estimated). It ranks #8204 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1987, it is around 39 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

3Legacy source-record capacity
2,252homes powered (est.)
1987commissioned (~39 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0056899.

Data status

Known data

FacilityIRC Generator Facility WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Arizona WRI
Coordinates36.9708, -112.5264 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity3 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerGarkane Energy Coop Inc WRI
Commissioned1987 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions5,913 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#8204 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#674 of 902 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.42× · 7 MW median · 902 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent2,252 calculated
Climate12.4°C · HDD 2,532 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 38/100 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 fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 3 MW, IRC Generator Facility is below the median oil plant in United States of America (7 MW). Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Reported generation trend

2013: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 0 GWh20191 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Garkane Energy Coop Inc.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 37.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.4°Cannual mean temp
2,532heating degree-days (base 18°C)
520cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,549 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 1 °CJF: 4 °CFM: 7 °CMA: 11 °CAM: 16 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 19 °CSO: 13 °CON: 6 °CND: 2 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 3% 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: 51/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
38/100environmental-severity index
23.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
601 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 #674 largest oil power plant of 902 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 902 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 40,022 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 36.9708, -112.5264 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is IRC Generator Facility?

IRC Generator Facility is a 3 MW source-record oil power plant in Arizona, United States of America, commissioned in 1987.

How many homes can IRC Generator Facility power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 2,252 homes (estimated).

Who operates IRC Generator Facility?

IRC Generator Facility is operated by Garkane Energy Coop Inc.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.