Weston

Coal power plant in Wisconsin, United States of America. Approximate location 44.8606, -89.6553.

CoalWisconsinUnited States of AmericaSteamAnnouncedCO₂ modelled

Weston is a 1,103 MW coal power station in Wisconsin, United States of America. It is operated by Wisconsin Public Service Corp. Based on reported annual generation of 4,409 GWh, it can supply roughly 1.3 million homes. It ranks #591 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Its modelled annual emissions are 191,230 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 45k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

1,103Source-backed capacity
4,409GWh reported / yr
1,259,714homes powered
191,230t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1993Announced year

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0004078.

Data status

Known data

FacilityWeston WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Wisconsin WRI
Coordinates44.8606, -89.6553 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity1,103 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerWisconsin Public Service Corp WRI
Commissioned1993 WRI
TechnologySteam WRI
GWh reported / yr4,409 GWh/yr WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions191,230 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#591 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#222 of 802 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.98× · 558 MW median · 802 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,259,714 calculated from reported generation
Climate6.0°C · HDD 4,477 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 32/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

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

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 946 MW for Weston Power Plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000104280); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,103 MW, Weston is well above the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Technically it is described as Steam. Its current lifecycle status is “announced” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

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

~191,230 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

45kpassenger cars driven for a year
25khomes' yearly energy use
3.2 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 6,086 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 4,414 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 4,299 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 4,409 GWh20196k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Wisconsin Public Service Corp. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 44.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.0°Cannual mean temp
4,477heating degree-days (base 18°C)
123cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
371 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -11 °CJF: -8 °CFM: -2 °CMA: 6 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 19 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 8 °CON: 0 °CND: -8 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 82% 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: 90/100 — this site sits in the top 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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
32/100environmental-severity index
31.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
164 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 #222 largest coal power plant of 802 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 802 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 621,194 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 44.8606, -89.6553 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Weston?

Weston is a 1,103 MW source-record coal power plant in Wisconsin, United States of America, planned/announced for 1993.

How much electricity does Weston generate?

Weston generates about 4,409 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Weston power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,259,714 homes.

Who operates Weston?

Weston is operated by Wisconsin Public Service Corp.

How much CO₂ does Weston emit?

Weston has modelled emissions of about 191,230 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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