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U.S. Power Plant Data

US Energy Information Administration. 2020. "U.S. Power Plants." Accessed 19 July 2020. https://www.eia.gov/maps/layer_info-m.php.

This is a point dataset representing operable electric generating plants in the United States by energy source. This includes all plants that are operating, on standby, or short- or long-term out of service with a combined nameplate capacity of 1 MW or more. EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Report, EIA-860M, Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator Report and EIA-923, Power Plant Operations Report. Updated April 2020.

Definitions from: https://www.eia.gov/tools/glossary/index.php

Feature ID
Unique feature ID number from the original shapefile

EIA Plant Code (Plant_Code)
EIA-assigned plant identification number

Plant Name (Plant_Name)
Name of the power plant

Utility Name (Utility_Na)
Name of the company that is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the generator

Utility ID (Utility_ID)
EIA-assigned identification number for the company that is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the generator

Sector Name (sector_nam)

• Commercial CHP: Commercial combined heat and power. A plant designed to produce both heat and electricity from a single heat source. Note: This term is being used in place of the term "cogenerator" that was used by EIA in the past. CHP better describes the facilities because some of the plants included do not produce heat and power in a sequential fashion and, as a result, do not meet the legal definition of cogeneration specified in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA).
• Commercial Non-CHP: Commercial electricity generation that does not make use of heat.
• Electric Utility: A corporation, person, agency, authority, or other legal entity or instrumentality aligned with distribution facilities for delivery of electric energy for use primarily by the public. Included are investor-owned electric utilities, municipal and State utilities, Federal electric utilities, and rural electric cooperatives. A few entities that are tariff based and corporately aligned with companies that own distribution facilities are also included.
• Industrial CHP: Industrial combined heat and power
• Industrial Non-CHP: Industrial electricity generation that does not make use of heat
• IPP CHP: Independent power producer of combined heat and power
• IPP Non-CHP: Independent power producer that does not make use of heat

City
City location of power plant

County
County location of power plant

State Name (StateName)
State location of power plant

Zip
Zip code of power plant

Street Address (Street_Add)

Primary Fuel Source (PrimSource)
The most predominant type of energy that fuels the generator. The primary energy source is determined by net summer capacity.

• biomass
• coal
• geothermal
• hydroelectric
• natural gas
• nuclear
• other
• petroleum
• pumped storage
• solar
• wind

Installed Nameplate MW (Install_MW)
The total combined generator nameplate capacity (installed). Installed capacity is determined by the highest value on the generator nameplate in megawatts rounded to the nearest tenth. The maximum rated output of a generator, prime mover, or other electric power production equipment under specific conditions designated by the manufacturer and expressed in megawatts (MW).

Summer Peak MW (Total_MW)
The maximum output, as measured in alternating current (AC), commonly expressed in megawatts (MW), that generating equipment can supply to system load, as demonstrated by a multi-hour test, at the time of summer peak demand (period of June 1 through September 30.) This output reflects a reduction in capacity due to electricity use for station service or auxiliaries.

Coal MW (Coal_MW)
Net summer capacity of coal-fired electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Natural Gas MW (NG_MW)
Net summer capacity of natural gas fired electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Petroleum MW (Crude_MW)
Net summer capacity of petroleum-fired electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Biomass MW (Bio_MW)
Net summer capacity of biomass electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Hydroelectric MW (Hydro_MW)
Net summer capacity of hydroelectric generators in megawatts (MW)

Pumped Storage MW (HydroPS_MW)
Net summer capacity of pumped-storage hydroelectric generators in megawatts (MW)

Nuclear MW (Nuclear_MW)
Net summer capacity of nuclear power electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Solar MW (Solar_MW)
Net summer capacity of solar powered electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Wind MW (Wind_MW)
Net summer capacity of wind turbine electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Geothermal MW (Geo_MW)
Net summer capacity of geothermal powered electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Battery MW (Bat_MW)
Net summer capacity of battery powered electric generators in megawatts (MW)

Other MW (Other_MW)
Net summer capacity of electric generators powered by other energy sources not specified in the other categories in megawatts (MW). These include energy storage technologies (e.g., compressed air, batteries, and fly wheels), purchased steam, waste heat not directly attributed to a fuel source, and tire-derived fuels.

Source Description (source_des)
Descriptive information about power sources (for labels?)

Prime Mover Technology (tech_desc)
The type(s) of technology (prime mover). The engine, turbine, water wheel, or similar machine that drives an electric generator; or, for reporting purposes, a device that converts energy to electricity directly (e.g., photovoltaic solar and fuel cells).

Source
The EIA source surveys for the power plants map data

Period
The reporting period (currency) of the data (yyyymm)

Latitude
WGS 84 Latitude

Longitude
WGS 84 Longitude