Pawnee

Coal power plant in Colorado, United States of America. Approximate location 40.2217, -103.6803.

CoalColoradoUnited States of America

Pawnee is a 552 MW coal power station in Colorado, United States of America. It is operated by Public Service Co of Colorado. Based on reported annual generation of 2,510 GWh, it can supply roughly 717,171 homes. It ranks #677 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1981, it is around 45 years old — long-established. 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).

552MW installed capacity
2,510GWh reported / yr
717,171homes powered
1981commissioned (~45 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006248.

~2,510,100 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

585,105passenger cars driven for a year
327,347homes' yearly energy use
41,835,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2013: 3,094 GWh20132014: 2,705 GWh20142015: 3,427 GWh20152016: 2,705 GWh20162017: 3,521 GWh20172018: 3,280 GWh20182019: 2,510 GWh20194k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Public Service Co of Colorado. 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 cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 40.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

9.9°Cannual mean temp
3,360heating degree-days (base 18°C)
410cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,346 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -4 °CJF: 0 °CFM: 4 °CMA: 9 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 18 °CSO: 10 °CON: 2 °CND: -3 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 37% 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: 73/100 — 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 #159 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 40.2217, -103.6803 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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