Kettle Falls Generating Station — United States of America

Kettle Falls Generating Station is a 57.9 MW waste power plant in Washington, United States of America. It is operated by Avista Corp. Based on reported annual generation of 334 GWh, it can supply roughly 96k homes. It ranks #3477 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. In context, the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0000550.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: Wikidata P2109; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 57.9 MW, Kettle Falls Generating Station is well above the median waste plant in United States of America (6.6 MW). Waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste to generate electricity and heat, cutting landfill volume while recovering energy from residual waste.

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

Key facts

Load factor

66%, from 334 GWh of reported generation; the median for 506 waste plants in United States of America that report generation is 62%

Generation trend

300 GWh in 2013 and 334 GWh in 2019 (+11%)

Highest and lowest year

2018: 345 GWh; 2014: 263 GWh

Share of United States of America waste capacity

0.6% of 10,154 MW across 551 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

43 of 541 dated waste plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

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

Owner

Operated by Avista Corp. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This waste plant recovers energy by combusting municipal or industrial waste. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 48.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 54% 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: 81/100 — this site sits in the top 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

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

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 #52 largest waste power plant of 551 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 551 waste power plants in this dataset, together about 10,154 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Meyers Falls · Hydro · 1.6 MW · Washington
• Sheep Creek Hydro · Hydro · 1.6 MW · British Columbia
• Box Canyon · Hydro · 90 MW · British Columbia
• Waneta Expansion · Hydro · 335 MW · British Columbia
• Waneta · Hydro · 490 MW · British Columbia
• Seven Mile · Hydro · 805 MW · British Columbia

Location

Coordinates 48.6203, -118.1111 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions