North Pole

Oil power plant in Alaska, United States of America. Approximate location 64.7356, -147.3481.

OilAlaskaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

North Pole is a 181 MW oil power station in Alaska, United States of America. It is operated by Golden Valley Elec Assn Inc. Based on reported annual generation of 431 GWh, it can supply roughly 123,228 homes. It ranks #1357 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 112,313 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 26,180 cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

181MW installed capacity
431GWh reported / yr
123,228homes powered
112,313t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1986commissioned (~40 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006285.

112,313 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

26,180passenger cars driven for a year
14,647homes' yearly energy use
1,871,883tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 391 GWh20132014: 314 GWh20142015: 340 GWh20152016: 418 GWh20162017: 448 GWh20172018: 369 GWh20182019: 431 GWh2019448 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Golden Valley Elec Assn Inc. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a subarctic (boreal) climate (Köppen Dfc) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 64.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

-3.1°Cannual mean temp
7,676heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
175 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -23 °CJF: -19 °CFM: -11 °CMA: -1 °CAM: 8 °CMJ: 14 °CJJ: 16 °CJA: 13 °CAS: 7 °CSO: -4 °CON: -16 °CND: -21 °CD16 °C

Heating degree-days here run 212% 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: 100/100 — this site sits in the top 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 #38 largest oil power plant of 876 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 876 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 37,143 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 64.7356, -147.3481 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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