45th largest plant in Minnesota · 2471st nationally
Lake Benton Ii is a wind power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 100 MW. It generates roughly 431.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 41,083 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 49% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Lake Benton Ii |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota |
| City | Ruthton |
| County | Pipestone County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 56170 |
| Coordinates | 44.12937, -96.11697 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXIS | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 100 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| 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%.