35th largest plant in South Dakota · 3561st nationally
Buffalo Ridge I Llc is a wind power plant in South Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 50.4 MW. It generates roughly 94.5k MWh per year — enough to power about 8,998 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 21% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Buffalo Ridge I Llc |
|---|---|
| Operator | Avangrid Power Llc |
| City | Elkton |
| County | Brookings County |
| State | South Dakota |
| ZIP | 57026 |
| Coordinates | 44.43280, -96.47790 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 50.4 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| 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%.