9th largest plant in Minnesota · 663rd nationally
Black Dog is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 563 MW. It generates roughly 1.8M MWh per year — enough to power about 170,516 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 36% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1012 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 (563 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 | Black Dog |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota |
| City | Burnsville |
| County | Dakota County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55101 |
| Coordinates | 44.81080, -93.25010 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 360 MW | Cancelled | — |
| 6-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 238 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 200 MW | Cancelled | — |
| 8 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 200 MW | Cancelled | — |
| 5 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 188 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 163 MW | Retired | 1960 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 137 MW | Operating | 1954 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 114 MW | Retired | 1955 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 81.0 MW | Retired | 1952 |
| CO₂ | 906.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 5 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 144 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1012 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 | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.