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E C Gaston

Coal power plant · Shelby County, Alabama

Nameplate capacity
2,034 MW
Rank in Alabama
#4
of 80 plants
In service since
1960
May 1960

Details

Primary fuel
Coal
Technology
Conventional Steam Coal
Operator
Alabama Power Co
County
Shelby County
Generating units
6
Share of state capacity
6.15%
Rank among coal plants in Alabama
#3 of 3
EIA plant code
26

Generating units

Individual generating units at E C Gaston
UnitTechnologyNameplateSummerOnlineStatus
5Conventional Steam Coal952 MW832 MW1974Operating
1Natural Gas Steam Turbine272 MW254 MW1960Operating
2Natural Gas Steam Turbine272 MW256 MW1960Operating
3Natural Gas Steam Turbine272 MW254 MW1961Operating
ST4Natural Gas Steam Turbine245 MW256 MW1962Operating
GT4Petroleum Liquids21 MW16 MW1970Operating

Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.

Similarly sized plants in Alabama

BarryCoal3,344 MW
James H Miller JrCoal2,822 MW
H Allen Franklin Combined CycleNatural gas1,996 MW
Joseph M FarleyNuclear1,776 MW

About this data

From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 2,034 MW solar plant and a 2,034 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.

“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Alabama power plants · What Alabama actually generates