Newton

Coal power plant in Illinois, United States of America. Approximate location 38.9361, -88.2781.

CoalIllinoisUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Newton is a 617 MW coal power station in Illinois, United States of America. It is operated by Illinois Power Generating Co. Based on reported annual generation of 3,201 GWh, it can supply roughly 914,628 homes. It ranks #598 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1977, it is around 49 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 3,469,290 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 808,692 cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

617MW installed capacity
3,201GWh reported / yr
914,628homes powered
3,469,290t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1977commissioned (~49 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006017.

3,469,290 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

808,692passenger cars driven for a year
452,437homes' yearly energy use
57,821,500tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 6,918 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 3,201 GWh20197k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Illinois Power Generating Co. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.2°Cannual mean temp
2,695heating degree-days (base 18°C)
598cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
161 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: 0 °CFM: 6 °CMA: 12 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 14 °CON: 7 °CND: 1 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 10% 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: 54/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #148 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 38.9361, -88.2781 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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