Princeton (IL)
Natural gas power plant · Bureau County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
38 MW
Rank in Illinois
#135
of 580 plants
In service since
1953
July 1953
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
- Operator
- City of Princeton - (IL)
- County
- Bureau County
- Generating units
- 8
- Share of state capacity
- 0.07%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Illinois
- #41 of 72
- EIA plant code
- 957
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 8.8 MW | 8.7 MW | 1976 | Operating |
| 7 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 7.0 MW | 7.0 MW | 1976 | Operating |
| 6 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 5.6 MW | 5.5 MW | 1971 | Operating |
| 5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 4.4 MW | 4.4 MW | 1971 | Operating |
| 3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 3.4 MW | 3.4 MW | 1965 | Operating |
| 4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 3.4 MW | 3.4 MW | 1965 | Operating |
| 2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 3.0 MW | 3.0 MW | 1958 | Operating |
| 1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 2.3 MW | 2.3 MW | 1953 | 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
| ExxonMobil Oil Joliet Refinery | Natural gas | 43 MW |
| Waterloo | Natural gas | 38 MW |
| Grand Ridge Battery Projects | Battery storage | 36 MW |
| Earp Solar, LLC | Solar | 35 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 38 MW solar plant and a 38 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