259th largest plant in Iowa · 11275th nationally
Birch is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 1.8 MW. It generates roughly 6.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 629 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 42% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Birch |
|---|---|
| Operator | Birch Power Llc |
| City | Clearfield |
| County | Taylor County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50840 |
| Coordinates | 40.76764, -94.47437 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIR | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 1.8 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
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%.