Sam Rayburn

Gas power plant in Texas, United States of America. Approximate location 28.8947, -97.135.

GasTexasUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Sam Rayburn is a 215 MW gas power station in Texas, United States of America. It is operated by South Texas Electric Coop Inc. Based on reported annual generation of 229 GWh, it can supply roughly 65,457 homes. It ranks #1174 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1998, it is around 28 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 198,890 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 46,361 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).

215MW installed capacity
229GWh reported / yr
65,457homes powered
198,890t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1998commissioned (~28 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0003631.

198,890 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

46,361passenger cars driven for a year
25,938homes' yearly energy use
3,314,833tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 229 GWh2019229 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by South Texas Electric Coop Inc. 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 28.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

21.3°Cannual mean temp
446heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,647cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
30 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 12 °CJF: 14 °CFM: 18 °CMA: 21 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 28 °CJJ: 29 °CJA: 29 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 22 °CON: 17 °CND: 14 °CD29 °C

Heating degree-days here run 82% 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: 20/100 — 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 ~4% 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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #674 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.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 28.8947, -97.135 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.