West Gardner — United States of America

Gas power plant in Kansas, United States of America. Approximate location 38.7875, -94.9861.

GasKansasUnited States of AmericaOCGTCO₂ measured

West Gardner is a 408 MW gas power station in Kansas, United States of America. It is operated by Evergy Metro. Based on reported annual generation of 135 GWh, it can supply roughly 38k homes. It ranks #1358 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2003, it is around 23 years old — relatively modern. Its annual emissions of 168,207 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 39k 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).

408MW installed capacity
135GWh reported / yr
38,457homes powered
168,207t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
2003commissioned (~23 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0007929.

Data status

Known data

FacilityWest Gardner WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Kansas WRI
Coordinates38.7875, -94.9861 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity408 MW GEM · 2026 · L100000401936; operating plant capacity
Verification noteQuality label backfilled from existing source-backed capacity provenance on 2026-07-05; capacity value was not changed. source-verified
OwnerEvergy Metro WRI
Commissioned2003 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr135 GWh·a⁻¹ WRI
CO₂ emissions168,207 t CO₂·a⁻¹ measured · US EPA GHGRP

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1358 / 10884 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#663 / 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers3.37× · 121.2 MW · n=2165 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent38,457 calculated from reported generation
Climate12.5°C · HDD 2,648 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 36/100 derived from coordinates

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000401936; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 408 MW, West Gardner is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121.2 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.

168,207 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

3.1kmillion cubic feet of natural gas burned
35khomes' electricity use for a year
168kacres of US forest absorbing CO₂ for a year
0.02%of the CO₂ from all United States of America power plants with an emissions figure in PowerAtlas

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per US EPA GHGRP (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Key facts

Load factor
4%, from 135 GWh of reported generation; the median for 1622 gas plants in United States of America that report generation is 26%
Generation trend
24 GWh in 2013 and 135 GWh in 2019 (+470%)
Highest and lowest year
2019: 135 GWh; 2017: 10 GWh
Share of United States of America gas capacity
less than 0.1% of 789,950 MW across 2,165 plants in this dataset
Age among peers
1,160 of 1,973 dated gas 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

2013: 24 GWh20132014: 34 GWh20142015: 35 GWh20152016: 12 GWh20162017: 10 GWh20172018: 44 GWh20182019: 135 GWh2019135 GWh

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

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 38.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.5°Cannual mean temp
2,648heating degree-days (base 18°C)
676cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
311 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 7 °CMA: 13 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 14 °CON: 6 °CND: 0 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 8% 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: 53/100 — 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

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
28.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
737 kmdistance to coast

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 #663 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 38.7875, -94.9861 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is West Gardner?

West Gardner is a 408 MW gas power plant in Kansas, United States of America, commissioned in 2003.

How much electricity does West Gardner generate?

West Gardner generates about 135 GWh of electricity per year.

Who operates West Gardner?

West Gardner is operated by Evergy Metro.

How much CO₂ does West Gardner emit?

West Gardner has measured emissions of about 168,207 tonnes of CO₂ per year (US EPA GHGRP).

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