Nelson Energy Center
Natural gas power plant · Lee County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
628 MW
Rank in Illinois
#21
of 580 plants
In service since
2015
May 2015
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Operator
- Invenergy Services LLC
- County
- Lee County
- Generating units
- 4
- Share of state capacity
- 1.19%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Illinois
- #11 of 72
- EIA plant code
- 55183
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 182 MW | 168 MW | 2015 | Operating |
| CT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 179 MW | 168 MW | 2015 | Operating |
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 133 MW | 125 MW | 2015 | Operating |
| ST2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 133 MW | 125 MW | 2015 | 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
| Lincoln Generating Facility | Natural gas | 692 MW |
| Goose Creek Energy Center | Natural gas | 684 MW |
| Newton | Coal | 617 MW |
| Cordova Energy | Natural gas | 611 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 628 MW solar plant and a 628 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