6th largest plant in Minnesota · 566th nationally
High Bridge is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 644 MW. It generates roughly 2.4M MWh per year — enough to power about 232,350 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 43% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 894 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 (644 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 | High Bridge |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota |
| City | St. Paul |
| County | Ramsey County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55101 |
| Coordinates | 44.93140, -93.11170 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 250 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 197 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 8 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 197 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 6 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 163 MW | Retired | 1959 |
| 5 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 114 MW | Retired | 1956 |
| CO₂ | 1.1M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 5 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 122 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 894 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.