203rd largest plant in Iowa · 8379th nationally
Alta Municipal Utilities is a oil power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 4.0 MW. It generates roughly 372 MWh per year — enough to power about 35 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1651 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Alta Municipal Utilities |
|---|---|
| Operator | City Of Alta - (Ia) |
| City | Alta |
| County | Buena Vista County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 51002 |
| Coordinates | 42.67360, -95.30260 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2A | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Standby | 2018 |
| 3A | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Standby | 2018 |
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 1.1 MW | Retired | 1990 |
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 1.0 MW | Retired | 1947 |
| CO₂ | 307 metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 6 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1651 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.