Home / North America / United States of America / Rockingham County CT Station

Rockingham County CT Station

Gas power plant in North Carolina, United States of America. Approximate location 36.3297, -79.8297.

GasNorth CarolinaUnited States of AmericaOCGTMothballedCO₂ measured

Rockingham County CT Station is a 978 MW gas power station in North Carolina, United States of America. It is operated by Duke Energy Carolinas LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 960 GWh, it can supply roughly 274k homes. It ranks #679 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2000, it is around 26 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 456,149 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 106k 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).

978Source-backed capacity
960GWh reported / yr
274,142homes powered
456,149t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
2000commissioned (~26 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055116.

Data status

Known data

FacilityRockingham County CT Station WRI
CountryUnited States of America · North Carolina WRI
Coordinates36.3297, -79.8297 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity978 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerDuke Energy Carolinas LLC WRI
Commissioned2000 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr960 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions456,149 t CO₂/yr measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#679 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#229 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers8.07× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent274,142 calculated from reported generation
Climate14.2°C · HDD 2,000 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 34/100 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.

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 978 MW, Rockingham County CT Station is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. Its current lifecycle status is “mothballed” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.

456,149 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

106kpassenger cars driven for a year
59khomes' yearly energy use
7.6 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: 0 GWh20132014: 245 GWh20142015: 807 GWh20152016: 1,290 GWh20162017: 678 GWh20172018: 2,325 GWh20182019: 960 GWh20192k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Duke Energy Carolinas LLC. All plants by this company →

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 humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 36.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

14.2°Cannual mean temp
2,000heating degree-days (base 18°C)
647cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
242 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 5 °CFM: 9 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 14 °CON: 10 °CND: 5 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 19% 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: 43/100 — this site sits in the mid 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
22.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
344 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 #229 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 36.3297, -79.8297 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Rockingham County CT Station?

Rockingham County CT Station is a 978 MW source-record gas power plant in North Carolina, United States of America, commissioned in 2000.

How much electricity does Rockingham County CT Station generate?

Rockingham County CT Station generates about 960 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Rockingham County CT Station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 274,142 homes.

Who operates Rockingham County CT Station?

Rockingham County CT Station is operated by Duke Energy Carolinas LLC.

How much CO₂ does Rockingham County CT Station emit?

Rockingham County CT Station has measured emissions of about 456,149 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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