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James River Power Station

Gas power plant in Missouri, United States of America. Approximate location 37.1086, -93.2619.

GasMissouriUnited States of AmericaSteamCO₂ measured

James River Power Station is a 362 MW gas power station in Missouri, United States of America. It is operated by City Utilities of Springfield - (MO). Based on reported annual generation of 134 GWh, it can supply roughly 38k homes. It ranks #1492 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1980, it is around 46 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 99,439 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 23k 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).

362Legacy source-record capacity
134GWh reported / yr
38,171homes powered
99,439t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1980commissioned (~46 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0002161.

Data status

Known data

FacilityJames River Power Station WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Missouri WRI
Coordinates37.1086, -93.2619 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity362 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerCity Utilities of Springfield - (MO) WRI
Commissioned1980 WRI
TechnologySteam WRI
GWh reported / yr134 GWh/yr WRI
Search-demand signal500 US monthly searches across matched station queries (james river power station) Google Ads Keyword Planner
CO₂ emissions99,439 t CO₂/yr measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1492 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#708 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.99× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent38,171 calculated from reported generation
Climate13.2°C · HDD 2,393 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 198 MW for James River power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 362 MW, James River Power Station is well above 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.

99,439 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

23kpassenger cars driven for a year
13khomes' yearly energy use
1.7 milliontree 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: 0 GWh20132014: 714 GWh20142015: 240 GWh20152016: 185 GWh20162017: 84 GWh20172018: 118 GWh20182019: 134 GWh2019714 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by City Utilities of Springfield - (MO). 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 humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 37.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

13.2°Cannual mean temp
2,393heating degree-days (base 18°C)
663cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
387 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -1 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 8 °CMA: 13 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 14 °CON: 8 °CND: 2 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 3% 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: 49/100 — 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
26.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
731 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 #708 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 37.1086, -93.2619 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is James River Power Station?

James River Power Station is a 362 MW source-record gas power plant in Missouri, United States of America, commissioned in 1980.

How much electricity does James River Power Station generate?

James River Power Station generates about 134 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can James River Power Station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 38,171 homes.

Who operates James River Power Station?

James River Power Station is operated by City Utilities of Springfield - (MO).

How much CO₂ does James River Power Station emit?

James River Power Station has measured emissions of about 99,439 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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