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UW Madison Charter Street Plant

Gas power plant in Wisconsin, United States of America. Approximate location 43.07, -89.4006.

GasWisconsinUnited States of America

UW Madison Charter Street Plant is a 11 MW gas power plant in Wisconsin, United States of America. It is operated by State of Wisconsin. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 12k homes (estimated). It ranks #5547 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1965, it is around 61 years old — an older, legacy facility. 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).

11Source-backed capacity
12,389homes powered (est.)
1965commissioned (~61 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0054408.

Data status

Known data

FacilityUW Madison Charter Street Plant WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Wisconsin WRI
Coordinates43.07, -89.4006 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity11 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerState of Wisconsin WRI
Commissioned1965 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions17,345 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#5547 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1757 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.09× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent12,389 calculated
Climate7.7°C · HDD 3,976 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 11 MW, UW Madison Charter Street Plant is below the median gas plant in United States of America (121 MW). 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.

Reported generation trend

2013: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 0 GWh20191 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by State of Wisconsin.

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 warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

7.7°Cannual mean temp
3,976heating degree-days (base 18°C)
233cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
272 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -9 °CJF: -6 °CFM: 0 °CMA: 7 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 10 °CON: 2 °CND: -5 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 62% 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: 84/100 — this site sits in the top 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 thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
36/100environmental-severity index
30.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
133 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 #1757 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 43.07, -89.4006 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is UW Madison Charter Street Plant?

UW Madison Charter Street Plant is a 11 MW source-record gas power plant in Wisconsin, United States of America, commissioned in 1965.

How many homes can UW Madison Charter Street Plant power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 12,389 homes (estimated).

Who operates UW Madison Charter Street Plant?

UW Madison Charter Street Plant is operated by State of Wisconsin.

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