Sonoco Products Co — United States of America

Sonoco Products Co is a 40.5 MW waste power plant in South Carolina, United States of America. It is operated by Sonoco Products Co. Based on reported annual generation of 106 GWh, it can supply roughly 30k homes. It ranks #3926 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1954, it is around 72 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0057919.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: Wikidata P2109; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 40.5 MW, Sonoco Products Co is well above the median waste plant in United States of America (6.6 MW). Waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste to generate electricity and heat, cutting landfill volume while recovering energy from residual waste.

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

Key facts

Load factor

30%, from 106 GWh of reported generation; the median for 506 waste plants in United States of America that report generation is 62%

Generation trend

54 GWh in 2013 and 106 GWh in 2019 (+96%)

Highest and lowest year

2016: 151 GWh; 2013: 54 GWh

Share of United States of America waste capacity

0.4% of 10,154 MW across 551 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

4 of 541 dated waste plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

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

Owner

Operated by Sonoco Products Co.

Local climate & thermal context

This waste plant recovers energy by combusting municipal or industrial waste. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 34.4°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 46% 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: 31/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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

This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

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 #79 largest waste power plant of 551 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 551 waste power plants in this dataset, together about 10,154 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• H.B. Robinson Steam power station · Coal · 206.6 MW · South Carolina
• H B Robinson · Nuclear · 780 MW · South Carolina
• Darlington County · Gas · 845.4 MW · South Carolina
• Darlington Solar LLC · Solar · 10 MW · South Carolina
• Redwing Solar · Solar · 2 MW · South Carolina
• Gary Solar · Solar · 2 MW · South Carolina

Location

Coordinates 34.3853, -80.0678 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions