48th largest plant in Wisconsin · 3163rd nationally
Elk Mound is a natural gas power plant in Wisconsin with a nameplate capacity of 71.0 MW. It generates roughly 34.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,269 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 6% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1546 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Elk Mound |
|---|---|
| Operator | Dairyland Power Coop |
| City | Elk Mound |
| County | Chippewa County |
| State | Wisconsin |
| ZIP | 54739 |
| Coordinates | 44.90281, -91.56810 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.5 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.5 MW | Cancelled | — |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 35.5 MW | Cancelled | — |
| CO₂ | 26.5k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 8 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1546 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.