Charter Dura-Bar
Natural gas power plant · McHenry County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
6.0 MW
Rank in Illinois
#185
of 580 plants
In service since
1992
April 1992
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
- Operator
- Wells Manufacturing Co
- County
- McHenry County
- Generating units
- 6
- Share of state capacity
- 0.01%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Illinois
- #54 of 72
- EIA plant code
- 54540
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.0 MW | 0.9 MW | 1992 | Operating |
| 1B | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.0 MW | 0.9 MW | 1992 | Operating |
| 2A | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.0 MW | 0.9 MW | 1992 | Operating |
| 2B | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.0 MW | 0.9 MW | 1992 | Operating |
| 3A | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.0 MW | 0.9 MW | 1992 | Operating |
| 3B | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.0 MW | 0.9 MW | 1992 | Operating |
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 Illinois
| Argonne National Laboratory CHP | Natural gas | 6.3 MW |
| McLeansboro | Other | 6.1 MW |
| Lake Gas Recovery | Other | 6.0 MW |
| MPEA Energy Center | Other | 6.0 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 6.0 MW solar plant and a 6.0 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 Illinois power plants · What Illinois actually generates