41st largest plant in Iowa · 1576th nationally
Golden Plains is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 200 MW. It generates roughly 750.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 71,440 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 43% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Golden Plains |
|---|---|
| Operator | Interstate Power And Light Co |
| City | Buffalo Center |
| County | Winnebago County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50424 |
| Coordinates | 43.43064, -94.01641 |
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 | 200 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| 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%.