Johnsonville

Gas power plant in Tennessee, United States of America. Approximate location 36.0278, -87.9861.

GasTennesseeUnited States of AmericaOCGT

Johnsonville is a 1,426 MW gas power station in Tennessee, United States of America. It is operated by Tennessee Valley Authority. Based on reported annual generation of 140 GWh, it can supply roughly 40k homes. It ranks #404 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1980, it is around 46 years old — long-established. 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).

1,426Legacy source-record capacity
140GWh reported / yr
40,057homes powered
1980commissioned (~46 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0003406.

Data status

Known data

FacilityJohnsonville WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Tennessee WRI
Coordinates36.0278, -87.9861 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity1,426 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerTennessee Valley Authority WRI
Commissioned1980 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr140 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions56,080 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#404 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#101 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers11.77× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent40,057 calculated from reported generation
Climate14.5°C · HDD 1,991 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 35/100 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 1,020 MW for Johnsonville Fossil Plant, 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 1,426 MW, Johnsonville is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.

Reported generation trend

2013: 2,122 GWh20132014: 2,138 GWh20142015: 2,115 GWh20152016: 1,680 GWh20162017: 1,366 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 140 GWh20192k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Tennessee Valley Authority. 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 36.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

14.5°Cannual mean temp
1,991heating degree-days (base 18°C)
743cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
145 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 2 °CJF: 5 °CFM: 10 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 19 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 15 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 19% 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: 43/100 — 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)
35/100environmental-severity index
23.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
639 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 #101 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 36.0278, -87.9861 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Johnsonville?

Johnsonville is a 1,426 MW source-record gas power plant in Tennessee, United States of America, commissioned in 1980.

How much electricity does Johnsonville generate?

Johnsonville generates about 140 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Johnsonville power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 40,057 homes.

Who operates Johnsonville?

Johnsonville is operated by Tennessee Valley Authority.

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