Gas power plant in New Mexico, United States of America. Approximate location 31.8047, -106.5472.
GasNew MexicoUnited States of America
Rio Grande is a 398 MW gas power station in New Mexico, United States of America. It is operated by El Paso Electric Co. Based on reported annual generation of 927 GWh, it can supply roughly 264,914 homes. It ranks #822 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, gas supplies about 40.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0002444.
This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:
Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical gas emission factor (~400 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by El Paso Electric Co. All plants by this company →
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 31.8°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 48% below 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: 30/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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.
A gas turbine here also runs ~2% 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.
The #491 largest gas power plant of 1818 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 1818 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 546,436 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 31.8047, -106.5472 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
