Whiting Refinery

Gas power plant in Indiana, United States of America. Approximate location 41.6703, -87.4803.

GasIndianaUnited States of America

Whiting Refinery is a 84 MW gas power plant in Indiana, United States of America. It is operated by BP PLC. Based on reported annual generation of 451 GWh, it can supply roughly 129k homes. It ranks #3055 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1961, it is around 65 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).

84Source-backed capacity
451GWh reported / yr
128,800homes powered
1961commissioned (~65 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0052130.

Data status

Known data

FacilityWhiting Refinery WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Indiana WRI
Coordinates41.6703, -87.4803 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity84 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerBP PLC WRI
Commissioned1961 WRI
GWh reported / yr451 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions180,320 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#3055 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1212 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.69× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent128,800 calculated from reported generation
Climate10.0°C · HDD 3,284 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 41/100 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 577 MW for Whiting Clean Energy power station, 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 L100000402521); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 84 MW, Whiting Refinery 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: 421 GWh20132014: 375 GWh20142015: 401 GWh20152016: 434 GWh20162017: 419 GWh20172018: 456 GWh20182019: 451 GWh2019456 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by BP PLC.

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 hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 41.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

10.0°Cannual mean temp
3,284heating degree-days (base 18°C)
401cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
186 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -5 °CJF: -2 °CFM: 3 °CMA: 9 °CAM: 16 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 23 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 18 °CSO: 12 °CON: 5 °CND: -2 °CD23 °C

Heating degree-days here run 34% 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: 70/100 — 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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
41/100environmental-severity index
28.6°Cseasonal temperature swing
19 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 #1212 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 41.6703, -87.4803 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Whiting Refinery?

Whiting Refinery is a 84 MW source-record gas power plant in Indiana, United States of America, commissioned in 1961.

How much electricity does Whiting Refinery generate?

Whiting Refinery generates about 451 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Whiting Refinery power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 128,800 homes.

Who operates Whiting Refinery?

Whiting Refinery is operated by BP PLC.

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