13th largest plant in Minnesota · 936th nationally
Cannon Falls Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 347 MW. It generates roughly 693.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 66,024 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 23% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1356 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Cannon Falls Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Invenergy Services Llc |
| City | Cannon Falls |
| County | Goodhue County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55009 |
| Coordinates | 44.53669, -92.91553 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 173 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| UNT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 173 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| CO₂ | 470.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 136 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1356 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.