Montgomery County Resource Recovery — United States of America

Montgomery County Resource Recovery is a 67.8 MW waste power plant in Maryland, United States of America. It is operated by Covanta Montgomery Inc.. Based on reported annual generation of 274 GWh, it can supply roughly 78k homes. It ranks #3296 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1995, it is around 31 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 568,620 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 133k cars driven for a year. 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 USA0050657.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: Wikidata P2109; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 67.8 MW, Montgomery County Resource Recovery 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.

~568,620 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Key facts

Load factor

46%, from 274 GWh of reported generation; the median for 506 waste plants in United States of America that report generation is 62%

Generation trend

304 GWh in 2013 and 274 GWh in 2019 (−10%)

Highest and lowest year

2018: 333 GWh; 2019: 274 GWh

Share of United States of America waste capacity

0.7% of 10,154 MW across 551 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

166 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 Covanta Montgomery Inc..

Local climate & thermal context

This waste plant recovers energy by combusting municipal or industrial waste. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.2°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 0% 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: 50/100 — 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

This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), 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 #34 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

• Dickerson Generating Station · Coal · 588 MW · Virginia
• Dickerson · Coal · 933 MW · Maryland
• MNCPPC Germantown Solar · Solar · 1 MW · Maryland
• Montgomery County Correctional Facility · Solar · 1.4 MW · Maryland
• Potomac Energy Center, LLC · Gas · 812 MW · Virginia
• Stonewall · Gas · 812 MW · Virginia

Location

Coordinates 39.2006, -77.4556 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions