WANSLEY UNIT 9
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 568 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Heard County
- Operator
- MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC AUTHORITY
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2004
- EIA plant ID
- 7946
- Generators
- 3
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Net generation (2024)
- 3,454 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 66%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 33.4083, -85.0394
WANSLEY UNIT 9, a 568 MW Natural Gas power plant in Heard County, Georgia. Operated by MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC AUTHORITY, commissioned 2004.
How WANSLEY UNIT 9 compares
With 568 MW of capacity, WANSLEY UNIT 9 ranks 22nd among the 104 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Georgia and 13th of the 26 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 3.8% of Georgia's operating Natural Gas capacity and 1.6% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 284th-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 2004, it is newer than 90% of the 101 operating Georgia plants with a recorded commissioning year. It shares Heard County with 4 other operating plants, including WANSLEY COMBINED CYCLE and TENASKA GEORGIA GENERATION FACILITY.
EIA-860 lists 3 generators at the site with 594 MW of nameplate capacity, all natural gas fired combined cycle technology. Net generation was 3,454 GWh in 2024 (a 66% capacity factor), up 48% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 230 kV line owned by GEORGIA POWER CO, under 0.1 miles away. Another 5 operating power plants totaling 4,860 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is PLANT YATES (1,487 MW, Coal). Within 50 miles are 8 mapped data centers; the nearest is QTS Atlanta-Metro (ATL1) in Atlanta, about 43.8 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records, EIA-860/923 survey data and PeeringDB data center locations; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
WANSLEY UNIT 9 is a 568 MW natural gas power plant in Heard County, GA, operated by MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC AUTHORITY, commissioned in 2004. Heard County carries elevated modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 2.9 of 5 at the 46th national percentile. Lightning is the leading peril, rated Relatively Low by FEMA at the 95th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a natural gas plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Heard County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 95th | 4.8 of 5 | 61.7 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 81st | 4.2 of 5 | 0.22 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 72nd | 3.9 of 5 | 0.79 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 61st | 3.4 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Hail | Very Low | 55th | 3.2 of 5 | 5.1 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 55th | 3.2 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 51st | 3.0 of 5 | 0.06 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 41st | 2.7 of 5 | 2.5 |
| Riverine flooding | Very Low | 28th | 2.1 of 5 | 0.32 |
| Heat wave | Very Low | 18th | 1.7 of 5 | 2.7 |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 15th | 1.6 of 5 | 1.7 |
Perils not assessed in Heard County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Heard County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.