Mars Snackfood US
Natural gas power plant · Cook County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
3.5 MW
Rank in Illinois
#267
of 580 plants
In service since
1987
May 1987
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Operator
- M&M Mars Inc
- County
- Cook County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.01%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Illinois
- #61 of 72
- EIA plant code
- 54855
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 3.5 MW | 3.0 MW | 1987 | Out of service but expected to return to service in next calendar year |
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
| Triton East and West Cogen | Natural gas | 3.6 MW |
| Chicago West Side Energy Center | Natural gas | 3.5 MW |
| USS Beard Solar | Solar | 3.5 MW |
| Beecher Gas Recovery | Other | 3.3 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 3.5 MW solar plant and a 3.5 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