197th largest plant in Minnesota · 6987th nationally
American Crystal Sugar Moorhead is a coal power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 5.0 MW. It generates roughly 39.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,793 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 91% means it runs nearly around-the-clock as baseload generation. At 1217 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (5.0 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | American Crystal Sugar Moorhead |
|---|---|
| Operator | American Crystal Sugar Co |
| City | Moorhead |
| County | Clay County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 56560 |
| Coordinates | 46.90260, -96.76112 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 3.0 MW | Operating | 1948 |
| G2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 2.0 MW | Operating | 1961 |
| CO₂ | 24.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 10 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 30 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1217 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 |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.