30th largest plant in South Dakota · 2812th nationally
Beethoven Wind is a wind power plant in South Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 80.0 MW. It generates roughly 274.5k MWh per year — enough to power about 26,146 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 39% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Beethoven Wind |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northwestern Energy - (Sd) |
| City | Tripp |
| County | Bon Homme County |
| State | South Dakota |
| ZIP | 57376 |
| Coordinates | 43.16000, -98.08000 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B&H80 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 80.0 MW | Operating | 2015 |
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
Wind farms harvest kinetic energy from moving air using large rotor blades coupled to generators. Like solar, they produce zero emissions but vary with weather. Onshore wind capacity factors typically run 30–45%; offshore can exceed 50%.