WEST GARDNER
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 365 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Johnson County
- Operator
- KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT CO
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2003
- EIA plant ID
- 7929
- Generators
- 4
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 502 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 14%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 38.7880, -94.9856
WEST GARDNER, a 365 MW Natural Gas power plant in Johnson County, Kansas. Operated by KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT CO, commissioned 2003.
How WEST GARDNER compares
With 365 MW of capacity, WEST GARDNER ranks 10th among the 115 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Kansas and 4th of the 53 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 9.5% of Kansas's operating Natural Gas capacity and 2.6% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 404th-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 2003, it is newer than 69% of the 113 operating Kansas plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT CO, runs 4 operating plants in Kansas totaling 2,182 MW. It shares Johnson County with one other operating plant, GARDNER ENERGY CENTER.
EIA-860 lists 4 generators at the site with 408 MW of nameplate capacity, all natural gas fired combustion turbine technology (this page's HIFLD capacity figure is 365 MW). Net generation was 502 GWh in 2024 (a 14% capacity factor), about 2.8 times its 2022 output.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 161 kV line owned by KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT CO, under 0.1 miles away. Another 7 operating power plants totaling 745 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is LAWRENCE ENERGY CENTER (566 MW, Coal). Within 50 miles are 3 mapped data centers; the nearest is Level(3) Kansas City in Kansas City, about 30.6 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
WEST GARDNER is a 365 MW natural gas power plant in Johnson County, KS, operated by KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT CO, commissioned in 2003. Johnson County carries high modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 4.1 of 5 at the 77th national percentile. Winter weather is the leading peril, rated Very High by FEMA at the 83rd 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.
Johnson County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter weather | Very High | 83rd | 4.3 of 5 | 11.3 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 81st | 4.2 of 5 | 9.2 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 78th | 4.1 of 5 | 14.9 |
| Tornado | Very High | 73rd | 3.9 of 5 | 0.32 |
| Ice storm | Very High | 44th | 2.8 of 5 | 0.99 |
| Lightning | Very High | 31st | 2.3 of 5 | 51.6 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 29th | 2.2 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively High | 27th | 2.1 of 5 | 2.5 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 24th | 1.9 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 4th | 1.1 of 5 | 7.0 |
Perils not assessed in Johnson 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 |
|---|---|
| Hurricane | FEMA rating is "No Rating" for this county |
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Johnson 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.