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Southwestern Bell Telephone

Oil power plant in Missouri, United States of America. Approximate location 38.6276, -90.1934.

OilMissouriUnited States of America

Southwestern Bell Telephone is a 17 MW oil power plant in Missouri, United States of America. It is operated by Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 13k homes (estimated). It ranks #5045 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2003, it is around 23 years old — relatively modern. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

17Source-backed capacity
12,914homes powered (est.)
2003commissioned (~23 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0054858.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySouthwestern Bell Telephone WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Missouri WRI
Coordinates38.6276, -90.1934 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity17 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerSouthwestern Bell Telephone Co WRI
Commissioned2003 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions33,901 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#5045 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#250 of 902 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.39× · 7 MW median · 902 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent12,914 calculated
Climate12.9°C · HDD 2,533 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 36/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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 17 MW, Southwestern Bell Telephone is well above the median oil plant in United States of America (7 MW). Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 0 GWh20190 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.9°Cannual mean temp
2,533heating degree-days (base 18°C)
700cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
146 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 7 °CMA: 13 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 14 °CON: 7 °CND: 1 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 3% 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: 51/100 — this site sits in the mid 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

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)
36/100environmental-severity index
27.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
431 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 #250 largest oil power plant of 902 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 902 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 40,022 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 38.6276, -90.1934 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Southwestern Bell Telephone?

Southwestern Bell Telephone is a 17 MW source-record oil power plant in Missouri, United States of America, commissioned in 2003.

How many homes can Southwestern Bell Telephone power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 12,914 homes (estimated).

Who operates Southwestern Bell Telephone?

Southwestern Bell Telephone is operated by Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

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