1st largest plant in North Dakota · 232nd nationally
Coal Creek is a coal power plant in North Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 1,216 MW. It generates roughly 7.2M MWh per year — enough to power about 682,527 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 67% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2023 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 (1,216 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 | Coal Creek |
|---|---|
| Operator | Rainbow Energy Center |
| City | Underwood |
| County | Mclean County |
| State | North Dakota |
| ZIP | 58576 |
| Coordinates | 47.37774, -101.15706 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | RC | 605 MW | Operating | 1979 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | RC | 605 MW | Operating | 1980 |
| 4 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 3.0 MW | Standby | 2016 |
| 5 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 3.0 MW | Standby | 2016 |
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Retired | 1979 |
| CO₂ | 7.2M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 4.8k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 4.2k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2023 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.. |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.