Rawhide

Gas power plant in Colorado, United States of America. Approximate location 40.8609, -105.0212.

GasColoradoUnited States of AmericaOCGTCO₂ measured

Rawhide is a 800 MW gas power station in Colorado, United States of America. It is operated by Platte River Power Authority. Based on reported annual generation of 2,038 GWh, it can supply roughly 582k homes. It ranks #839 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1996, it is around 30 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 1,451,281 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 338k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

800Source-backed capacity
2,038GWh reported / yr
582,142homes powered
1,451,281t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1996commissioned (~30 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006761.

Data status

Known data

FacilityRawhide WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Colorado WRI
Coordinates40.8609, -105.0212 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity800 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPlatte River Power Authority WRI
Commissioned1996 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr2,038 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions1,451,281 t CO₂/yr measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#839 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#327 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers6.60× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent582,142 calculated from reported generation
Climate9.0°C · HDD 3,474 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 36/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 506 MW for Rawhide Energy Station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: A3_MAJOR_REVIEW_SCOPE_STATUS - recommended action: manual_scope_status_check - confidence: low_until_scope_verified. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 800 MW, Rawhide is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

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

1,451,281 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

338kpassenger cars driven for a year
189khomes' yearly energy use
24 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per US EPA GHGRP (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Reported generation trend

2013: 2,407 GWh20132014: 2,190 GWh20142015: 1,990 GWh20152016: 2,259 GWh20162017: 2,234 GWh20172018: 1,871 GWh20182019: 2,038 GWh20192k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Platte River Power Authority.

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 40.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

9.0°Cannual mean temp
3,474heating degree-days (base 18°C)
201cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,657 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: 0 °CFM: 3 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 9 °CON: 2 °CND: -2 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 41% 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: 75/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
36/100environmental-severity index
23.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
1306 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

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 #327 largest gas power plant of 2165 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 2165 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 789,950 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 40.8609, -105.0212 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Rawhide?

Rawhide is a 800 MW source-record gas power plant in Colorado, United States of America, commissioned in 1996.

How much electricity does Rawhide generate?

Rawhide generates about 2,038 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Rawhide power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 582,142 homes.

Who operates Rawhide?

Rawhide is operated by Platte River Power Authority.

How much CO₂ does Rawhide emit?

Rawhide has measured emissions of about 1,451,281 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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