Museum of Science and Industry
Natural gas power plant · Cook County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
1.7 MW
Rank in Illinois
#537
of 580 plants
In service since
2003
May 2003
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
- Operator
- Museum of Science and Industry
- County
- Cook County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.00%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Illinois
- #68 of 72
- EIA plant code
- 58635
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COGEN | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 1.7 MW | 1.7 MW | 2003 | 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
| Bourbonnais | Solar | 1.7 MW |
| Machesney Park | Solar | 1.7 MW |
| CED Champaign Solar LLC | Solar | 1.6 MW |
| Hopewell Solar, LLC | Solar | 1.6 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 1.7 MW solar plant and a 1.7 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