UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ABBOTT POWER PLT
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 85 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Champaign County
- Operator
- UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1940
- EIA plant ID
- 54780
- Generators
- 11
- Technology
- Natural Gas Steam Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 211 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 30%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 40.1048, -88.2421
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ABBOTT POWER PLT, an 85 MW Natural Gas power plant in Champaign County, Illinois.
How UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ABBOTT POWER PLT compares
With 85 MW of capacity, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ABBOTT POWER PLT ranks 61st among the 158 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Illinois and 28th of the 50 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 0.6% of Illinois's operating Natural Gas capacity and 0.2% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 713th-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 1940, it is older than 96% of the 150 operating Illinois plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, runs 2 operating plants in Illinois totaling 145 MW. It shares Champaign County with one other operating plant, RANTOUL.
EIA-860 lists 11 generators at the site with 80 MW of nameplate capacity, mainly natural gas steam turbine technology. Net generation was 211 GWh in 2024 (a 30% capacity factor), down 2% from 2022. Its generators came online between 1940 and 2004.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 138 kV line owned by AMEREN ILLINOIS COMPANY, about 1.2 miles away. Another 4 operating power plants totaling 941 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is GOOSE CREEK ENERGY CENTER (684 MW, Natural Gas).
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ABBOTT POWER PLT is an 85 MW natural gas power plant in Champaign County, IL, operated by UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, commissioned in 1940. Champaign County carries elevated modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 3.2 of 5 at the 56th national percentile. Heat wave is the leading peril, rated Relatively Moderate by FEMA at the 89th 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.
Champaign County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 89th | 4.6 of 5 | 6.5 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 79th | 4.2 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 71st | 3.9 of 5 | 0.96 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 66th | 3.6 of 5 | 1.8 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 64th | 3.6 of 5 | 2.7 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 51st | 3.0 of 5 | 9.6 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 40th | 2.6 of 5 | 4.2 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 33rd | 2.3 of 5 | 0.92 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 23rd | 1.9 of 5 | 0.03 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 18th | 1.7 of 5 | 47.6 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 1st | 1.0 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Champaign 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 Champaign 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.